Link to the n* de dudes
I did watch part of one episode, because it promised LGBT representation: Matlock goes into a gay bar for some reason, and a young guy instantly pops up and asks him to dance. An old guy in a gay bar is hit on? Is this science fiction?
"Me, dance with you?" Matlock repeats, horrified. Then "No-ooooo-oooo!!!!", shaking his head so vigorously that I'm surprised it didn't fall off. Geez, it wouldn't hurt you to be a little gracious, homophobe! How about "No, thanks, I'm working."
There was also an episode with a murderous drag queen, rather old fashioned in the 1990s.
30 years later, Matlock has been revived in the form of a retired lawyer (Kathy Bates) with the nickname Matlock or Mattie, because the show was big when she was first starting out. I'm not particularly interested -- again, who wants to watch an oldster attorney clunking around -- but I understand that this version has a bona fide gay character, so I'll take a look.
Episode 1: In a coffee shop, a cute but jerky businessman (Marcus Rosner, right) talks about closing on his phone. He overhears Mattie struggling with using the tap function, and hands the barista a $20 bill to pay, and keep the change. Mattie is pleased; "Isn't this a nice way to start the day." But I'm not pleased; I figured this guy would be a main character.
She enters the building at 450 5th Avenue in New York, in Midtown, about five blocks from the Empire State Building, and talks to the lady on the elevator about hard candy: she resisted, but when she turned 65, she had no choice but to buy some. "We become exactly what people expect us to be."
Into the office on the 21st floor, where she suspiciously looks at a floor plan and enters a conference room full of suit men talking about the Mets. Boss Elijah (Eme Ikwuakor) asks Olympia about the police corruption case; she needs more resources to get it done, but he tells her to close it now.
Next Julian (Jason Ritter) brags that they can get his case up to $19 million. Mattie interrupts that he can get a lot more.
"Who are you?"
Matlock. She's come to apply for an associates job, but she can't get an interview due to her age, so she barged into the meeting.
"How do you know how much he is willing to pay?"
She's been tailing his attorney, and "accidentally" overheard their phone conversation in the coffee shop earlier. Old people are invisible, and can get away with a lot of spying.
"Fine, you're hired. You can assist Olympia on the case she's been working on for six months."
Scene 2: Olympia is upset, but she has no choice. She introduces her other assistants. The woman complains that they should be working with senior associates, not senior citizens, but Billy (David Del Rio) befriends Mattie and gives her a tour of the snack station and back patio for crying (I've had jobs like that).
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Left: David Del Rio is sort of swishy, and he pretends to be gay in several of his Instagram posts, but he announces right off that he's just joking: he's actually married to the most beautiful woman in the world, and they have two beautiful daughters. I hate it when straight guys jerk us around like that.
The case: Raymond Harris spent 26 years in prison for multiple rapes and a murder. He's been exonerated by DNA tests, thinks that the police suppressed evidence, and wants the State of New York to pay damages. Olympia has a tip: while Raymond was in custody, a prostitute escaped from the real killer, but the police report proving his innocence vanished. They have to track her down; but they have no name or description, and it was 26 years ago.
Left: Why I never watched Matlock.
More after the break
Scene 3: The meeting with Raymond and his bitchy "You're going to screw us over unless I micro-manage every detail of the case" Daughter. She has a man's haircut. Maybe she's the gay character. The State offered to settle (pay out instead of going to trial) for $2 million, but something happened, and now it's $241,000. The lawyers don't think they can win the case, so settle!
Mattie disagrees: "The offer is insulting. Go to trial." Daughter decides to go forward, and Olympia rushes out to complain to the Big Boss (Beau Bridges, left, in his younger years).
Back story: Olympia is married to the Big Boss's son, Julian from Scene 2 (holy nepotism, Batman!), but they are getting a divorce, so the Big Boss is looking for a reason to demote her to..ugh..corporate litigation! Going to trial on a case she'll surely lose is a good reason.
Scene 4: The assistants track down Sherleen, an "old ho" who remembers the prostitute with the narrow escape, and drew a picture. Gulp, the painting is abstract, with nothing useful except for the orange hair. Also, Sherleen remembers that she used drugs. "Was there a drug dealer that the hos usually patronized?" Mattie asks.
Scene 5: Mattie tells Olympia about their lead: Big Vinnie, who used to supply all of the prostitutes, is in prison now. Maybe he remembers the one they're looking for.
Next Maddie manipulates Julian, the soon-to-be ex-husband of Olympia, for a subplot that I didn't think was important enough to mention.
Left: Julian is played by Jason Ritter, son of the legendary John Ritter. He has a lot of n*de photos online.
Scene 6: Suddenly all of the newspapers in town are running a story about how police corruption in the 1990s wasn't as bad as previously believed. The implication is: of course no one tampered with the evidence in the rape/murder case. And the story was placed deliberately for the night before the trial began!
Scene 7: Mattie and assistants research Big Vinnie's past, and get him to talk to them by claiming that she is an old friend: "Vinnie, it's me, Mattie! I was friends with your mom Cindy when she was running day care in Hoboken. And your Aunt Brenda, from the First Baptist Church?" He agrees to think back, and seems to remember a redheaded junkie prostitute from 1996, whom he kept calling Carla (referencing Carla from Cheers). Her name was actually Carlin.
They grab drivers' license records of anyone named Carlin, 1993-1997, and sort through until they find the one they want:
Meanwhile, Olympia tells her assistants about her trial strategy, juxtaposed with scenes of it failing miserably, har har. Suddenly she gets word from Mattie: "We found the prostitute."
Scene 8: The Former Prostitute Carlin lives in a middle-class nuclear family home with an attached two-car garage and a bicycle out front. She looks like she's in her 30s, but the actress is actually in her 50s. After the rape, she changed her life, got sober, went to college, got married, and never told her family about her past. Her family, not "husband and kids." Have a female partner, please! Nope, she has a husband in the very next sentence. "I can't testify.. It will destroy my family."
On to Olympia yelling at Mattie. "You should have told her that she'd be arrested for obstructing justice or something. You just felt sorry for her because she reminded you of yourself. Well, Raymond reminds me of myself." (Olympia is black, and faces racism every day).
Scene 9: Mattie calls her grandson Alfie to say that she won't be home for dinner because she's busy on a case, and starts crying. It's the middle of the night. Do you eat dinner at like 10 pm?
Left: Aaron D. Harris was performing in The Drowsy Chaperone in Orbit Arts Academy's Junior Company when he was cast as Alfie, his first on-screen role. He has moved on to star in four movies now post-production, notably Tiny Fugitives (2025), about a Jewish summer camp, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw (2025).
Scene 10: Back to the trial, Olympia is interviewing the Daughter about how her father's incarceration affected her: "I'm 37, and I've never had a relationship, because I thought that if my father was capable of this terrible thing, how could I trust anyone?" Come on, say "relationship with a woman"! Come out as a lesbian! Nope, she doesn't specify.
Meanwhile, Mattie returns to Prostitute Carlin's house to reveal that her daughter had a drug problem, and died of an overdose, so she understands what Carlin went through.
"But they won't believe me," Carlin complains. "Even back then, I knew no one would believe me. That's why I..."
Why what, Carlin? You didn't file? "Papa Cristo, the owner of a Greek restaurant saw me fight off the guy, and walked me to the police station and..."
Scene 11: As the evil prosecuting attorney badgers the Daughter about her father's criminal history, Maddie bursts in with news that she found Papa Cristo, still working at the restaurant. Why don't we see Mattie interviewing him? I wanted a hot Greek guy.
Bombshell: When Papa Cristo saw the attack, he called 911, but the tape of the call never made it to the police station. Or maybe it did, but was destroyed -- suppression of evidence! Mattie plays the backup from the state server.
Verdict: The Jury passed down an award of $20 million, much higher than what the State offered.
Scene 12: Maddie confronts Olympia about her various manipulations during the case, and at the office, to distract everyone from her secret relationship with Elijah from Scene 2. Geez, there are like 10 million guys in New York. Date someone outside the office!
Last minute plot twist: Mattie pretended that she needed the job because her dead husband left her with tons of gambling debts, so she's broke. She's picked up by her chauffeur, and heads home to her mansion! And her husband is still alive!
More: Mattie has an ulterior motive for working there. One of the lawyers suppressed documents that could have taken opioids off the market ten years earlier, thus preventing her daughter's death. She's gunning for, from right to left: Olympia, Big Boss/Father in Law, Ex-Husband Julian.
Beefcake: None. These people are all wearing suits. I was so disappointed at not seeing the Greek guy that I posted some n*de Greek dudes on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends.
Heterosexism: Olympia's love triangle, and in the last scene Maddie and her husband spend several minutes discussing how much they love each other.
Gay Characters: Maybe the Daughter. Assistant Billy (right), like the actor, is just pretending to be gay; he has a long-term girlfriend. There's a lesbian couple in Episode 1.6.My Grade: I enjoyed seeing Maddie do her "old lady act" to manipulate people or gather intel, and the last minute plot twists were unexpected. During the final explanation, we keep flashing back to Maddie's earlier statements: "You work in pharmaceuticals, right," which I felt unnecesssary.
But with no gay characters, and no beefcake, I can't recommend this series. C.
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