Matlock has set a major TV viewership record, surpassing all expectations

Matlock continues to make waves on television. The CBS series started as a reboot of the eponymous legal drama, which aired in the 1980s, but has been able to create its own identity and strike a chord with the audience.

The series recently aired its first season’s finale and has set a major viewership record. The finale garnered 5.6 million viewers on April 17, 2025, taking the average episodic viewership of the first season to 17 million.

With the unprecedented ratings, Matlock has become the most-watched new series on network television in the 2025-2026 broadcast schedule. The show has been able to achieve the feat in the competitive prime-time slot of 9 PM.

Matlock becomes the most-watched new show on network television in 2025-2026

As per Nielsen, a service that tracks the number of viewers tuned in to various shows, Matlock Season 1 has averaged 17 million views across different platforms, including CBS and Paramount+. The numbers include live and 35-day viewing figures.

With this record, the show has not only become the most-watched new broadcast series, but also the second most-watched overall series in 2025-2026, behind only CBS’ Tracker. The two-part season finale attained 5.6 million views, which was slightly less than the premiere viewership of 7.73 million.

However, the figures were good enough to increase CBS’s market, as the 9 PM audience on the network grew by over 53% from last year. Meanwhile, the show has already been renewed for a second season, considering its popularity and success.

Starring Kathy Bates in the lead, Matlock tells the story of Madeline Kingston, aka Matty, a retired lawyer who joins a legal firm in hopes of exposing the people responsible for her daughter’s death.

As she carries out her secret mission at the office, she also helps her colleagues with their legacy cases. The series is a perfect blend of mystery, thrill, and family drama, which makes it an engaging watch. The first season ended on a high note as Olympia found out about the identity of the person who was hiding the WellBrexa documents.

Whether she tells Matty about it or colludes in destroying the evidence forms the premise of the second season. Developed by Jennie Snyder Urman, the show is inspired by the 1980s CBS drama of the same name, which starred Andy Griffith in the lead.

Apart from Kathy Bates, the series stars Skye P. Marshall as Olympia Lawrence, Jason Ritter as Julian Markston, Aaron Harris as Alfie Kingston, Sam Anderson as Edwin Kingston, Leah Lewis as Sarah Franklin, David Del Rio as Billy Martinez, Eme Ikwuakor as Elijah, and Beau Bridges as Howard.

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All episodes of Matlock Season 1 are streaming on Paramount+.

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