Pilot – As the episode opens, vintage Tom Cruise (Marcus Rosner) is talking business with Timothy on the phone. He takes a break to order a coffee and pay for his and the woman in front of him with a $100 bill. He tells the barista (Frida Banks) to keep the change before turning his attention back to Timothy. Smiling, Madeline “Matty” Matlock (Kathy Bates) watches him walk away and says what a great start for the day. She retrieves several sugar packs, adds them to her hoard of butterscotch candy, and leaves the café toward Jacobson Moore Law Firm at 450 5^th Avenue. As Matty reaches the security checkpoint, a nice girl (Emma Nelles) sees her hands full and utilizes her card to let her pass. On the 21^st floor, Matty calls Kristine (Helen Hayden) to buzz her in. Inside the door, she studies a hand-drawn map and makes a left.

Elijah Walker (Eme Ikwuakor) enters a crowded meeting room and makes small talk before getting down to business. Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) informs him that she rejected a $2m offer to settle the Harris civil lawsuit. He stresses the need to reach a settlement because the case cannot go to trial which is scheduled to start tomorrow. She insists on a $4m settlement because Raymond Harris (Rothaford Gray) lost 26 years of his life. Julian says she has found nothing in the last six months to prove police corruption. Olympia talks down about her associates’ capabilities. Julian asks if that is how she means to build morale. She starts to tell Elijah about a sketch of a prostitute but he shuts her down and demands she take the settlement. Julian boasts of his $19m- settlement offer from Peabody. Interrupting the meeting, Matty assures them that Peabody can be forced to pay out more. She identifies herself and goes on a tirade about the 1980-90 Matlock TV show. Elijah asks which firm she works for. She expresses her desire to be considered for the open associate position. He agrees to give her an interview. She warns against pushing Peabody too far but is sure they can get a higher settlement offer. She claims her age visibility helped her get past his security on multiple occasions and learned Peabody’s council updates his client between 8:15am and 8:25am. Raymond Harris (Rothaford Gray) says they require a 2-week trial. She claims Peabody’s ceiling is $23m which means she made him $4m. She explains why she wants to work for his firm. Julian suggests pairing Matty with Olympia.

Olympia leaves the meeting in a foul mood. Matty asks for a chance to prove herself. Olympia asks her to get her Thanksgiving. She introduces herself to Sarah (Leah Lewis) who knows nothing about the Matlock TV show. When Sarah complains, Billy (David Del Rio) urges her to be nice. After a bit of back-and-forth, Sarah walks away. Matty asks why the “pissy” attitude. Billy attributes it to her ambition and lack of a social life. She asks him what Olympia meant by “get her Thanksgiving.” He suggests it refers to her and Julian’s divorce and custody dispute. Matty vows to stay out it. Billy says Raymond Harris was convicted of serial murder and rape. After a 26-year prison stint, he was exonerated through DNA evidence. An unidentified sex worker was attacked in a similar manner while Raymond was in prison. Sarah, Matty, and Billy meet with Raymond and Jordan Harris (Natasha Mumba). A very stern Jordan records every meeting. Olympia enters the room and informs them of the city’s new offer of $241,280. Raymond scolds her for not accepting the previous $2m offer. She reminds him that he confessed and had a criminal history. He claims to have been under duress when he confessed. Placing a tape recorder on the table, Jordan pushes play and says from their first meeting. In the recording, Olympia asks Raymond to trust her. Jordan asks for Matty’s opinion. Matty reluctantly urges them to take the case to court. Jordan agrees.

Olympia tells Senior that Matty convinced Raymond and Jordan to go to court. He insists she focuses on cases that will make them money. She attributes the City’s settlement offer to her diligence in keeping the story alive. Matty says there is no way the firm will take on a pro bono case. Billy tells her that it is a test case. Senior reminds Olympia that she is coming up for senior partnership. He insists on being her father-in-law for a lifetime, even after she and Julian are divorced. If Olympia doesn’t win Raymond’s case, she will be back to corporate litigation. She complains about not having the funds for a jury consultant which would help determine if Raymond should be called to the stand. Matty suggests a mock jury. Elijah offers to help them work on Raymond’s case. Olympia asks him to gather black, white, Latino, and Asian workers for a mock jury. Later, Sarah, Matty, and Billy visit an older sex worker, Sherleen (Colleen Camp). Matty complements Sherleen’s décor. Sherleen asks if she knows where her clitoris is located. Matty explains how she guided her husband of 38 years to her clitoris. She found out that he had massive gambling debt and multiple affairs. Sherleen hands her the sketch of the prostitute. Matty says her hair is orange and chaotic. Sherleen attributes it to drugs. Matty asks if the sex workers had a preferred drug dealer.

Olympia informs Matty that the mock jury rendered mixed results and Raymond will not be called to the stand. Matty says Sherleen told them about the sex workers’ drug supplier, Vincent “Big Vinnie” De Luca (Daveed Louza), who is locked up in Evansdale. When Matty refuses to get involved in the custody dispute until Olympia says it can help her get on her good side. Julian tells Matty that Peabody agreed to a $23m settlement. She embarrasses him with her comment about scotch and sex. She expresses her desire to work on Big Pharma cases. He tells her about their 8-year-old twins. She says Olympia would love to take the twins on a trip after they have Thanksgiving dinner together. Matty’s interference results in a verbal disagreement between Julian and Olympia. Elijah barges in to alert them of a Post article about a study that reveals police corruption in the 90s is not as widespread as initially reported. Julian insists on staying to work on Harris’ case.

At Evansdale, Mattie convinces Big Vinny to talk to her by claiming to know his mother, Cindy, and Aunt Brenda. She pretends to have emphysema which flares up when she gets upset. She tells him that Sarah and Billy are attorneys looking for Cindy. In the meantime, Olympia goes before Judge Mauricio Cortez (Paulina Nunes) to request a relocation because of the police corruption study. Tom Smith (Matt Baram) reminds her that she wasn’t previously worried about publicity. Cortez denies her request. Olympia goes over her plan with Jordan and Raymond. During opening arguments, Olympia tries to convince the jury to show Raymond that they care about his trauma. She claims he has a fear of public speaking. Smith yells out objection. Cortez orders them to approach the bench. Smith accuses her of trying to keep the jury from finding out about Raymond’s prior convictions. She promises to be more careful, turns, and gives Jordan a smile. Back at Evansdale, Billy tries to jog Big Vinny’s memory. When Sarah mentions the Macarena, Big Vinny recalls wanting to kill people who did it. He eventually remembers the sex worker’s name. Matty, Billy, and Sarah set out to find red-headed Carlin (Nichole de Boer).

In the courtroom, Olympia questions Lloyd Ferguson (Bill Lake) about Raymond’s confession during an 11-hour interrogation. He recalls Raymond professing his innocence over 100 times before confessing. He says Raymond retracted his confession eight minutes later but there was no follow-up investigation. An intoxicated eye-witness provided cops with a basic description. After Ferguson reads the description to the judge, Olympia sarcastically says she sees why they thought it was Raymond. Smith asks if police corruption is why they never conducted a follow-up investigation. Ferguson tells the jury about the police corruption study. Elijah tells Olympia that they found the sex worker. Elsewhere, Carlin recalls the night that she was attacked and how it changed her life. She claims her family knows nothing about her past. Matty urges her to testify in a closed court that the attack occurred while Raymond was locked up. Olympia is none too happy when Matty tells her about Carlin’s refusal to testify. She insists it was a mistake for Matty to return to work and calls her a “recipe for disaster.” Sarah and Billy try to cheer Matty up and urge her to make it right.

Jordan tells the jury how Raymond’s imprisonment impacted her and her family’s lives. She breaks down on the stand while talking about how she forever lost her close relationship with Raymond. Elsewhere, Matty tells Carlin that her daughter lost her life to drugs. Carlin voices her concern about how her testimony would impact her family. She claims the owner of a Greek restaurant witnessed her attack and took her to the police station. Matty calls around to see if she can find Papa Cristo. Back in the courtroom, Smith asks Jordan if Raymond was in jail before when she was young. Olympia yells out objection. Cortez motions them to his bench. The accusations fly until Cortez intervenes. After striking her statement, he threatens a mistrial if they do it again. Later, Olympia and Matty present their new evidence to Cortez. Smith argues against introducing a new witness this late in the case and describes Carlin’s claim as hearsay. Matty asks if a recording of the call existed, could it be submitted into evidence. Smith says yes. She says Papa Cristo called 911. Later, the 911 call is played for the jury. In the call, Papa Cristo says the girl with a stocking around her neck escaped from a man’s car. Olympia asks Ferguson why the call wasn’t logged into his precinct. He claims the report disappeared to convict Raymond.

The State of New York is forced to pay Raymond $20m. Raymond embraces Jordan and promises they will be close again. She professes to love him. Matty suggests Olympia has another love interest which is why she wanted Julian to be away on Thanksgiving weekend. Olympia says her references checked out and she looks forward to working with her again. Billy plays the theme song of Matlock for Matty. She takes the bus to an undisclosed location where her chauffeur, Marcus is waiting. He says good evening Madeline Kingston. She gets into the car and puts on a diamond ring. Edwin Kingston (Sam Anderson) emerges from the house and embraces her. Excited to see her, Alfie Kingston (Aaron D. Harris) embraces her. Julian, Olympia, and Edwin’s photos are attached to an evidence board. She says one of them hid documents that could have taken opioids off the market 10 years earlier and saved their daughter’s life. She vows to put them in jail as the episode ends.

 

Matlock Review

Unfortunately, the Matlock remake is not the respite people seek to escape the rhetoric. The series tackles social issues like opioid misuse and death, rape, prostitution, police corruption, racism, and wrongful conviction.

Matlock was a charming, down-to-earth, hot dog-loving kind of guy who refused to wear anything but his favorite suit. Madeline Kingston, on the other hand, is a fraud pretending to be a feeble, broke attorney.

Every stereotype and cliché crammed into one and the iconic Matlock name is just the lipstick on the pig. The show lacks originality and is nothing more or less than one big political agenda. The episode deserves a 4 out of 10.

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