Jason Ritter on that ‘Matlock’ twist: ‘I couldn’t believe what was happening’
Heâs on the case.Â
Jason Ritter co-stars in CBSâs hit legal drama âMatlock,â which follows Madeline “Matty” Matlock (Kathy Bates), a seemingly widowed and inexperienced ex-lawyer who takes a job at the law firm Jacobson & Moore. The show is a gender-bent reboot of the original âMatlockâ starring Andy Griffith, which aired from 1986 to 1995.Â
ââà± Matlockâ aired its first episode as a sneak peek in September, . The showâs regular time slot premiere is Thursday, Oct. 17 ( 9 p.m. on CBS).Â
âI couldnât be more excited,âᣠRitter, 44, âŠtold The Post, referring to the showâs initial success.
Ritter, who is married to âYellowjacketsâ star Melanie Lynskey and shares a 5-year-old daughter with her, added, âIt sort of reminded me of dropping my daughter off to kindergarten. Youâre like, âwell, I think sheâs awesome, but I hope the other kids like her!â Itâs a similar feeling, where yođžu go from being in your littlêŠe bubble out into the world. So, itâs been so exciting to see that other people have loved [âMatlockâ] as much as we do.â
As the first episode revealed â spoiler alert â thereâs a twist.
Madeline is pretending to be a sweet older lady who needs the job for the money. But really, she wants to work at the law firm because she believes that Julian (Ritter), his soon-to-be ex-wife, Olympia (Sâkye P. Marshall), or his father, Senior (Beau Bridges), hid documents that indđirectly relate to her daughterâs death and she wants to expose the culprit. Â
âWhen Iđ° auditioned for it, I didnât realize about the twist until after I had gotten the part andđ I read the script,â said Ritter.
âI donât think Iâve ever stood up while I was reading a script. I was sitting in a chair in the dining room and I couldnât believe what was happening, I got so excited, I stood upâŠI had that same feeling of hearing that finaâl click at the top of a roller coaster, going, âoh boy!ââ
He added, âIt’s also fun because the three people who are her main suspects all are very important to each other, it’s not like 3 strangers. Theyâre members of the same family.â
Ritter, who is the son of actress Nancy Morgan and the late John Ritter, said that he relates to Julian,êŠŻ in part, because the character also works in tđhe same industry as his father.
âThere was a lot of Julianâs character that I didnât have to reach too faàčr for. Aside from he has a very contentious relationshiâp with his father, and I loved my dad,â said Ritter.Â
John Ritter passed away in 2003 at age 54 of thoracic aortic dissection.
Jason addđ„ed that he âunderstoodâ Julianâs worries about what his đŠ©colleagues think of him.
âImđposter syndrome⊠Iâm very familiar with.â
He added that he most related to Julianâs âfamđily stuff.đčâ
âHe obviously wants to be a good lawyer, he wants to make money and all âof those things, but at the very top of his list is he wants to be a good dad.â
Ritter said the hardest part of the role was not going fanboy on Bates.&nbê§sp;
âThe biggest challenge for me was trying to stop myself from getting in my head and stopping myself from going, âThis is so sê©Čurreal, I canât believe Iâm talking to Kathy Bates!â I have loved her so many years and have been in awđe of so many performances.â
Ritter âshared that he had to focus on âstaying present in the scene and not floating out of my body and going, âThis is so cool! Sheâs so wonderđ ful!ââ
As âMatlockâ cođźntinues unfolding, Ritter said there will be many revelations and plot twists.Â
âThis is a firm where there are a lot of secrets. It’s really fun to peel it all back layer by layer and see what disgusting things are underneath.â