‘Matlock’ Continues to Have Surprising Twists After [Spoiler] Finds Out Matty’s Secret

Matty’s secret being discovered is only the beginning as Matlock plans to keep the surprises coming.

In the episode that aired on Thursday, April 3, Sarah, portrayed by Leah Lewis, becomes concerned that Olympia, played by Skye P. Marshall, might be considering leaving Jacobson Moore following her interaction with another lawyer regarding the Johnson file. Despite Sarah’s attempts to gather more information through Matty, portrayed by Kathy Bates, she is unsuccessful. However, the truth comes to light when Matty returns home and unexpectedly encounters Olympia.

During their confrontation, it is revealed that Olympia had been aware of Matty’s deceit for some time, raising doubts about their friendship and Matty’s future at the firm. Fortunately, Us Weekly had the opportunity to speak with showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman at PaleyFest to gain insight into what will unfold next in the storyline.

Urman, aged 49, shared her approach to handling storytelling obstacles by delving into the characters’ emotions and contemplating their reactions. She expressed her fascination with the unpredictable ways in which characters navigate challenges and how their behavior reflects the complexities of the human experience. This exploration of character responses continues to drive the narrative forward in intriguing and unexpected directions.

She continued: “I’m constantly surprised by the characters and what the writers’ room brings in. Also just how we can keep twisting the story and make it more. [It is all about] keeping it fresh and interesting.”

It doesn’t stop there after Matlock was renewed for a second season.

“The season 1 finale sets up everything. In season 2, you’ll get the answers that we’ve been promising,” Urman hinted. “It sets up something new. You’ll end up with great conflict between characters and a lot of different motivations come to a head. It leaves a lot of drama and fun to unpack in the second season.”

Matlock, which premiered in September 2024, follows a wealthy retired lawyer named Madeline Kingston (Bates) who pretends to be a poor widower named Matty Matlock to get a job at a firm. As it turns out, Matty thinks someone at the company is complicit in the opioid epidemic that resulted in her daughter’s death.

The plan to take down Jacobson Moore doesn’t exactly go as planned since Matty finds herself growing closer to Olympia (Marshall), Billy (David Del Rio), Sarah (Lewis) and more of her coworkers that don’t seem to be aware of the corruption at the firm.

After Matlock was renewed, director and executive producer Kat Coiro previewed how the show keeps building off the original twist.

“What’s so brilliant about the show and Jennie’s writing is that it’s very incremental and character-based. The twists have a lot to do with psychology rather than relying on big external factors or plot shifts,” Coiro explained in November 2024. “You get so invested in these characters that small revelations become really exciting.”

Coiro clarified that the CBS series isn’t relying on just one storytelling device.

“It’s easier to get away with that the more invested everybody becomes in the characters. Definitely the twist in the pilot was the biggest,” she noted. “Because you think you’re watching a pretty standard procedural about a fish out of water in a law firm. Then suddenly you introduce this story line that now has to carry two plots and two different sets of characters through every episode.”

Coiro praised the show’s writers’ room for finding ways to keep each episode feeling new, adding, “I think subtlety of the progression and the fact that it’s not moving forward at an incredibly rapid rate is part of what makes it sustainable.”

Matlock airs on CBS Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET and is currently streaming on Paramount+.

With reporting by Shar Jossell