History Series / Matlock

Structurally, this series is very much like ''Franchise/PerryMason''. Probably not coincidentally, ''Matlock'''s creator, Dean Hargrove, and his production partner, Fred Silverman (the same man who, at various times, worked as an executive for all three major television networks Creator/{{ABC}}, Creator/{{CBS}}, and Creator/{{NBC}}) produced a string of ''Perry Mason'' made-for-TV movies beginning three months before ''Matlock'' premiered. But there is a big difference between Mason and Matlock. Perry Mason (based in Los Angeles in most of the franchise; based in Denver for the TV movies) is always intense and menacing by nature; Matlock is old-fashioned, folksy and grandfatherly.

** In a typical ''Matlock'' episode, the killer is TheUnseen and exposed in the final act of the story. However, a few episodes of the show (starting with "The Judge") introduce the killer right off the bat without trying to hide their identity. This is sometimes done to showcase either the murderer's total lack of humanity or to demonstrate the lengths they'll go to avoid being caught -- and for the very worst offenders, both. Want an example of how this works to the benefit of the drama? "The Sisters" was only the second instance where this took place, and that time, the killers murdered someone just for ForTheEvulz.

* PoorlyDisguisedPilot: This show had a handful that didn't take; with back-to-back examples in Season 8 with the episodes "Brennen" (involving an assistant district attorney prosecuting the murder of a city councilman while trying to uncover a secret the District Attorney was trying to hid) and "The P.I." (involving a father-daughter private investigation team in Los Angeles. Sadly the father's actor, Creator/GeorgePeppard, was suffering from terminal lung cancer and died just four days after the latter episode's premiere).

** In Season 3's "The DJ", shock jock Arthur Saxon is accused of murdering his professional rival, Robby Moore. He's innocent of the crime, but glad Moore is dead, crashes the funeral to gloat, throws a studio-wrecking tantrum when his boss decides to drop him from further employment, and continually behaves like a monumental {{Jerkass}}. Even while in court, he makes rude comments about the victim, makes ugly comments in general, and becomes, as Ben puts it, the sort of defendant the jury can't wait to convict. It's later lampshaded in a follow-up ClipShow episode featuring Saxon at a banquet in Ben's honor when he gets a drink poured all over him by his ex for being a huge dick.

** In Season 3's "The DJ", shock jock Arthur Saxon is accused of murdering his professional rival, Robby Moore. He's innocent of the crime, but glad Moore is dead, and continually behaves like a monumental {{Jerkass}}. Even while in court, he makes rude comments about the victim, makes ugly comments in general, and becomes, as Ben puts it, the sort of defendant the jury can't wait to convict.

** And never act like you don't care about your defense when Matlock is trying to help you. In first-season episode "The Angel," accused rock star Angel Dinello (Kari Lizer) kisses Matlock on the face when Matlock says to the press that she is innocent of Mr. Pearson's murder, implying that she doesn't take the matter very seriously. This upsets Matlock so much that he takes Angel into his office in private, and yells at her, "Don't you ever do that!" Angel snidely claims that it's what the press wants, and that it's just a show. Matlock counters that she needs to understand how real it is for her: "You keep forgetting you're not on a stage; you're in a courtroom. You're on trial, for murder!" Angel shoots back at him to relax, and that the press loves her. Ben's assistant Charlene comes in, and Matlock has her read Angel the headlines in the day's paper-- "The Party's Over for a Party Girl." Matlock says that this love will have her convicted before a jury is even picked. Matlock, finally, has some rules set for Angel if he is to continue to defend her: one, that she is to keep mum about the matter with everyone, even the press; two, that she must severely modify how she presents herself in the courtroom (she must wear more than just her underwear, and will be properly dressed before the court); and three, no more "lighten up," or she will find herself on the outside looking in, "without a lawyer, without a defense and without a prayer."

** And never act like you don't care about your defense when Matlock is trying to help you. In first-season episode "The Angel," accused rock star Angel Dinello (Kari Lizer) kisses Matlock on the face when Matlock says to the press that she is innocent of Mr. Pearson's murder, implying that she takes the matter very seriously. This upsets Matlock so much that he takes Angel into his office in private, and yells at her, "Don't you ever do that!" Angel snidely claims that it's what the press wants, and that it's just a show. Matlock counters that she needs to understand how real it is for her: "You keep forgetting you're not on a stage; you're in a courtroom. You're on trial, for murder!" Angel shoots back at him to relax, and that the press loves her. Ben's assistant Charlene comes in, and Matlock has her read Angel the headlines in the day's paper-- "The Party's Over for a Party Girl." Matlock says that this love will have her convicted before a jury is even picked. Matlock, finally, has some rules set for Angel if he is to continue to defend her: one, that she is to keep mum about the matter with everyone, even the press; two, that she must severely modify how she presents herself in the courtroom (she must wear more than just her underwear, and will be properly dressed before the court); and three, no more "lighten up," or she will find herself on the outside looking in, "without a lawyer, without a defense and without a prayer."

In 2023 CBS announced a new ''Matlock'' series, starring Creator/KathyBates as [[GenderFlip Madeline "Matty" Matlock]].