Kathy Bates is sharing a major Matlock revelation.
The 76-year-old acting icon, who stars in CBS’ Matlock reboot, confessed in a new interview that she didn’t watch the original series during the ’80s and ’90s, which starred Andy Griffith as the titular character.
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“I didn’t watch it. Everybody always asked me that—did I watch the show?” Bates explained during her interview with Billy Bob Thornton as part of Variety‘s “Actors on Actor’s” series.
“I watched a couple [of episodes] to see what I could get out of it, but our show is just so different,” Bates explained.
The Oscar-winning actress did note, however, that the reboot series was initially meant to have much stronger ties to the original.
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“I heard, originally, they wanted to make [my character] Andy Griffith’s great-great-granddaughter. So she’d be 30-something,” Bates revealed.
Ultimately, the reboot’s creator Jennie Snyder Urman began brainstorming and eventually, “it came to her that she wanted to write something about older women [and] feeling invisible.”
As a result, the new Matlock series was born—and Bates’ fans are eternally grateful.
“She’s the light of the show! 💝” one of her fans wrote on Instagram, while another called Bates simply “brilliant” in the hit show.
“Excellent show. She’s an icon,” added another.
Related: Kathy Bates Fans Jump to Her Defense After Lackluster Appearance
