Where to Watch the Original ‘Matlock’ With Andy Griffith
Matlock is back on CBS. Oscar-winner Kathy Bates stars as Madeline “Matty” Matlock in the new gender-flipped reimagining of the popular Andy Griffith legal drama.
In the new show, Bates plays a woman who talks her way into a job at a prestigious law firm. Her goal? Uncover the truth about who covered up information that could have prevented her daughter’s death from a drug overdose.
The new Matlock has earned praise from critics and is a hit with audiences. The show’s second episode attracted 6.38 million viewers, according to the Hollywood Reporter, and it earned a swift season 2 renewal. That means we have plenty more Matty Matlock to look forward to. But what if the new show has you wanting to revisit the original Matlock?
You can stream the original ‘Matlock’ for free
Matlock premiered in 1986. It starred Griffith as a folksy Southern lawyer Ben Matlock. A criminal defense attorney, Matlock was committed to doing whatever it took to prove his clients innocent in court. In each episode, he investigated the case, meticulously gathering evidence that would exculpate the defendant and get the guilty person to confess.
Nearly 200 episodes of Matlock aired between 1986 and 1995. All nine seasons are available to stream for free, with ads, on Pluto TV. Pluto also has a Matlock channel that airs old episodes of the show. Season 1 episodes are also available for purchase on Prime Video.
Matlock was different from Andy Griffith’s other roles
When Griffith was cast in Matlock, he was already an established TV icon thanks to his role as Sheriff Andy Taylor in The Andy Griffith Show. But Matlock was a departure for him.
“It was different from anything I ever played,” he said in an interview with the Television Academy Foundation. “It’s a great role.”
According to Griffith, he got the role after the head of NBC saw him in the 1984 miniseries Fatal Vision, where Griffith played a lawyer. Initially, he wasn’t impressed with the script.
“Cindi [Knight, his wife] said, ‘Oh, that’s awful.’ I said, ‘Honey, that’s the way television is,’” he recalled.
But after some script revision, Matlock eventually found its “foothold,” Griffith said. And the actor eventually grew very attached to the character.
“I love the character of Matlock,” he said. “I would like to do some Matlock movies. We may one day. Matlock is very bright, he’s very cheap, he’s very vain. All the things I’m not. And I enjoyed that character a lot.”
Unfortunately, those movies Griffith dreamed of never materialized before he died in 2012, at age 86.
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