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Matlock fans should brace themselves for more than just a shift in the show’s airtime—there’s also a leap forward in the storyline.
According to the show’s creator, Jennie Snyder Urman, the third season will kick off with a significant time lapse. In an interview with Deadline, Urman revealed, “We won’t be picking up immediately after the events of the second season finale. We’re looking at a jump of about six months to a year.”
Urman reiterated this point during a conversation with TVLine, hinting at changes for Matty (Kathy Bates) and Olympia (Skye P. Marshall), who will find themselves navigating a new workplace environment.
She elaborated, “We’re talking about a modest time leap—somewhere between six to nine months—not a massive jump like five years where everything is unrecognizable. It’s a fresh start, but not an instant continuation from last season.”
CBS’s fall 2026 schedule is undergoing a notable transformation following some unexpected programming decisions. The network disclosed its upcoming lineup on Wednesday, April 15, marking some significant adjustments. Among these, the premieres of Ghosts, Matlock, and NCIS: Sydney have been rescheduled for the 2027 midseason, shaking up viewer expectations.
Before the season 2 finale, it was confirmed that Matlock is returning for a third season — but will go through a schedule change after a “complete reset” for the show.
“I asked for it with the network. We had a talk,” Urman told TV Insider. “I just feel like we had so much stuff to think about because we really landed the plane on this, and we really thought that was important because we didn’t want to keep dragging out the same story, and the characters have to get to someplace real emotionally.”
Urman confirmed that season 2 would wrap up the Wellbrexa story line, which meant a complete “reset” for the series.
“When we took this two-hour finale and really paid a lot of things off, what came with that was I’m going to need time after that to really build the architecture so that we have it for the next seasons,” she teased. “I’m excited about it, but I am also grateful because we needed a little bit of time.”
Matlock is returning for a third season on CBS — but who is and isn’t returning after an investigation? The hit CBS series, which premiered in September 2024, follows a wealthy retired lawyer named Madeline Kingston (Kathy Bates) who pretends to be a poor widower named Matty Matlock to get a job at Jacobson Moore […]
Urman addressed possible disappointment from viewers, adding, “Sad for audiences, but actually really good for me and the writers because I want us to plot this new mystery and make sure it’s airtight.”
She continued: “We had a lot of pieces going in, so we really had to create this new piece of it. I feel lucky that the network’s giving us time to get it right because I don’t want the quality to drop.”
CBS previously announced its schedule on April 15 with viewers noticing some substantial changes. Ghosts, Matlock and NCIS: Sydney received a shakeup by having their premieres moved to 2027 for midseason. They will join the new show Einstein, which is finally premiering in 2027 as well.
Matlock’s time slot will be given to Elsbeth to allow Cupertino to premiere on the same night. NCIS: Sydney, meanwhile, is moving to midseason as NCIS: Origins — which received a shorter episode order — takes over to pair off with NCIS: New York.