‘Matlock’ Boss Breaks Down Midseason Finale, Senior’s Fate and Promises to Wrap Up Show’s Key Scandal

[This story contains spoilers from the midseason finale of Matlock, “Call It a Christmas Gift.”]

Oscar winner Kathy Bates’ return to acting in a re-engineering of the classic procedural Matlock has been a triumphant success. Her recent Emmy nomination for best lead actress in a drama series at age 77 made her the oldest nominee ever ever in that category. As fans of the new Matlock know, Bates’ role was never as it appeared. “I’m Madeline Matlock. I’m a lawyer. Yes, Matlock. Like the old TV show,” is how the character was introduced.

But from the very beginning, the audience knew what Skye P. Marshall’s legal ace character Olympia on the partner track at Jacobson Moore didn’t: Matty was no jilted old woman whose gambling husband forced her back to work to care for her tween grandson, Alfie, after her daughter Ellie’s death. Instead, the actually very wealthy Madeline Kingston lived in a mansion with her husband Edwin (Sam Anderson), and…