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Kathy Bates looked absolutely stunning in her midnight blue with black beading overlay Armani dress at the Emmys on Sunday. The color was perfection against her skin tone, plus I thought it had a nostalgia factor as it reminded me of her Titanic costumes. Kathy presented as part of the “villains” group, citing her role in Misery. But as it turns out, her real villainy was in scaring us over an imminent retirement! In a New York Times piece published last week, Kathy said her new outing in the Matlock reboot would be her “last dance” of acting work. And the world wept. One week later and having fun at the Emmys, though, and Kathy was dancing to a different tune. She clarified that she will keep acting as long as Matlock is running, which she hopes will be for years! Sounds to me like someone’s found the rhythm again. And the world rejoiced.
Kathy Bates isn’t quite ready to say goodbye to her storied Hollywood career!
In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly at the 2024 Emmy Awards, the Matlock actress, 76, addressed her previous comments about the upcoming CBS reboot being her final project before retirement.
When asked about how she reacted to the social media uproar, Bates said she was “very flattered” about the response before clarifying her comments about hanging up her hat.
“What I meant was I had one foot out the door until I read the script for Matlock,” she explained. “And then I read some Matlock and I went ‘Okay, close the door we are going to do some more!’ I want it to run for years, it’s that great.”
Though the 1987 series follows defense lawyer Benjamin Matlock (Andy Griffith) as he charges hefty prices to fight for people’s cases, the new reboot will tell the story of Bates’ character, Madeline Matlock, who rejoins the law workforce as a senior, using her unassuming persona to win cases.
“We’re so excited,” Bates told PEOPLE of the highly anticipated series. “It’s unlike anything you have ever seen, there’s a whole other thing going on, there’s a whole twist that people will really be surprised at. We got a great cast.”
Matlock premieres on Sept. 22 on CBS.
Earlier this month, the actress told The New York Times that the new series would likely be her “last dance.”
Bates revealed that she was ready to quit after she was driven to tears on her couch after working on an unnamed movie shoot.
“It becomes my life,” she told the outlet. “Sometimes I get jealous of having this talent. Because I can’t hold it back, and I just want my life.”
I am so relieved to hear this from Kathy! Not that she hasn’t earned the right to retire, but I wondered how final the decision was after reading the NY Times article. To be frank, that profile was the saddest portrait I’d even seen of Kathy Bates. The writer even acknowledges early on that she seemed to have caught Kathy on a bad day. There was a sort of despondency and deep self-dissatisfaction that I’d never associated with Kathy. Which is fine, we’re all human and have our ups and downs. But it felt like we were bearing witness to a very private moment, someone on their worst day, and that made it a tough article to read. So again, I’m glad to hear Kathy is excited and joyous about the work she has lined up, and is maybe even leaving the door open to the possibility of more! In the meantime, my interest is now thoroughly piqued from her tease of a big twist in the new Matlock. What could it be?!
photos credit: Nicky Nelson/Wenn/Avalon, Ryan Hartford/INSTARimages.com, Getty and via Instagram/MatlockCBS
I wonder if the young lawyer turns out to be her daughter.
Somebody must have bought a squirrel.