How Kathy Bates' gender-flipped 'Matlock' is legal 'mastermind'

PASADENA, Calif. ― You didn't ask for another reboot, but CBS is giving you "Matlock" ― with a twist.

Kathy Bates stars as Madeline Matlock, a lawyer who winks at NBC's 1986-95 iconic lawyer played by Andy Griffith. But the similarities end there.

The gender-flipped series, premiering Oct. 17 (with a special preview Sept. 22), is a response to ageism in society ― and especially Hollywood ― focusing on a sharply drawn, elbows out legal eagle.

"I wanted to write about how older women are overlooked in society," says executive producer Jennie Snyder Urman ("Jane the Virgin"). "And then I wanted the audience to enjoy being shocked by the underestimation. It's a legal procedural, with a case of the week."

"But at its deepest core, it's a character study, a deep dive into the mind of Madeline Matlock, a fish out of water, a mastermind," she told the Television Critics Association Saturday. "Just because you’re older doesn’t mean you can’t be a bad bitch."

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Bates said she takes nothing for granted. "A woman my age would never have such a role, ever," said the 76-year-old actress, who also played a lawyer in NBC's short-lived 2011-12 "Harry's Law." "The complexity; the writing. A lot of ageism exists, and I've only been interested in doing the best work I can possibly do."

In the series premiere, Matlock bulldozes her way into a law office in search of a job armed with some useful intel on a case, off-putting then impressing partners Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) and Julian (Jason Ritter), who are soon to be exes.

"We'll show what she’s an expert in and what was left out in her role as a lawyer in the '90s; what were her blind spots," Urman says.

Matlock proves useful, and (spoiler!) joins the firm. But the show centers on the begrudging and mutually beneficial bond between Madeline and Olympia. Bates is grateful for the opportunity, helped by Eric Christian Olson, another executive producer best known for his role in more than 300 episodes of "NCIS: Los Angeles."

"I'm overwhelmed with the sense memory of sitting on my grandmother's floor and watching the show, (and how) your hero is in search of the truth. The philosophy of getting someone who's lived and loved and lost taking you by the hand is something I have distinct memories of in Rockford, Illinois, on shag carpeting."