Matlock Season 2 Returns With Kathy Bates, Expands Wellbrexa Arc

CBS’s legal drama Matlock returns for its second season on Sunday, October 12, 2025, at 8:30 p.m. Eastern, with Emmy and Academy Award winner Kathy Bates back as Madeline Matty Matlock. The premiere will air on CBS and the episode will be available to stream the following day on Paramount, with the series moving into its regular Thursday 9 p.m. Eastern time slot beginning October 16.

Season two continues Matty’s undercover pursuit of answers about her daughter’s death and expands the series’ mix of standalone courtroom stories and a larger corporate conspiracy involving the Wellbrexa pharmaceutical scandal. The first episode will feature Matty questioning the paternity of a man who claims to be Alfie’s father, while Olympia works to shield Julian’s involvement in the Wellbrexa case and the firm’s team confronts an arson matter.

CBS ordered 18 episodes for the season, with production split into two blocks. The first half of the season was filmed before a hiatus in October and November, and filming for the remaining episodes is scheduled to continue into early 2026. Network executives have signaled the season will follow a mostly weekly rollout with possible midseason breaks tied...