Skye P. Marshall with Kathy Bates in the 'Matlock' midseason finale. Michael Yarish/CBS (C)2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text [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. Related Stories TV TV Ratings: Fall 2025's Delayed Viewing Champions TV TV Ratings: 'Tracker' and 'High Potential' Stay on Top of Network Charts for Fall 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 her real reason for working at Jacobson Moore was to hold them accountable for protecting the pharmaceutical firm Wellbrexa she blames for her daughter's opioid overdose. By season's one end, Olympia figured out Matty's huge lie and not only did it blow up their friendship, but it also put Olympia in a position of whether to protect her ex Julian (Jason Ritter), her children's father, and get Matty to go after his father Senior (Beau Bridges) who runs Jacobson Moore instead. "Everybody is in a really, really difficult situation at the top of the next season," showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman, who pulled off the unexpected reboot, had teased to The Hollywood Reporter. Unfortunately, ahead of the season two premiere, castmember David Del Rio, who plays Billy, was fired from the show amid allegations of sexual assault from co-star Leah Lewis, whose character Sarah was the on-screen yin to his yang. Fans naturally wondered how the season would play out with that fan-favorite duo no longer in play and some of the season already shot. The last two episodes, which include this midseason finale, "Call It a Christmas Gift," revealed that Del Rio and Billy are no longer a part of Matlock. How that works out in the story occurs naturally, with his longtime girlfriend/fiancé having a miscarriage, prompting him to take time off, and presumably, never return. Urman now speaks with The Hollywood Reporter about the December ender focusing on Julian being back in the fire amid the unexpected twist of Senior's stroke, moving Julian from innocent bystander and favorite Senior' punching bag to an active participant in the cover-up, and forcing Olympia to once again choose between her children's father and Matty, the person who became her friend under false pretenses. The Matlock boss also discussed Alfie's father, Sarah's betrayal and teased new characters when season two returns Feb. 26, 2026 - and how Senior's fate will impact the show. *** This midseason finale ends with such a bang for season two. Just when we think Julian really is the good guy - bam! Bam, bam! Because then we we get Matty and Olympia back together. We really wanted the first half of the season to be honest about where they would be. There was a huge lie, and they'd worked so hard for this friendship. They'd gotten through and it was real, and it was deep and all that stuff, and then Olympia realized [Matty] was lying the whole time. So we wanted to calibrate in the first half of the season that friendship and how you get over such a big betrayal. We wanted it to be that two steps forward, one step back thing that is true to life. What makes me so excited about the second half is that you see the gift she gives her at the end. I compare it to when in a romantic comedy someone proposes - we're back together. This is the biggest gift I could give you, and the biggest sign that we are in it together. What that allows is for them to be on the same side and for the friendship to get back into being deep and meaningful and fun. Even in episode seven, getting to hear them talk on the phone together and joke? I've been waiting for that. In the writers room, we've been waiting for that. We just wanted to make sure it was earned. The end of episode eight is the final piece that forges them back together. We get to watch them really enjoy each other as they put the final pieces into place in the back half of the season. It's bittersweet because she was getting to a really good place with the father of her children