There’s a new face coming to Matlock Season 2, and we’re not talking about the man claiming to be Alfie’s (Aaron D. Harris) dad. That character was revealed in the final moments of the Matlock Season 1 finale in April, and his paternity claims will definitely be tested when Matlock comes back this fall. But showrunner Jennie Snyder-Urman says there are several new characters to be debuted in Matlock Season 2. She shared specific details about one of them with TV Insider.
Snyder Urman tells us that Julian’s (Jason Ritter) former stepmother will be making her debut in Season 2, and she wasn’t his first stepmother.
“There are a lot of interesting new characters coming. You’ll meet Senior’s [Beau Bridges] third ex-wife who he married because she was smart,” Snyder Urman says. “That’s a mistake he vows he will never make again. You’ll meet her, and you’ll meet a lot of interesting new characters who are coming. I think I’ll leave it at that.”
Casting for this and other characters will be announced at a later time, but with Matlock Season 2 set to air on Thursdays at 9/8c on CBS this fall, it won’t be that long of a wait before new details are revealed. Kathy Bates, Skye P. Marshall, Ritter, Leah Lewis, David Del Rio, Beau Bridges, Sam Anderson, and Harris will all be back in Season 2, as will Niko Nicotera, who debuted as Alfie’s purported father in the finale.
Julian Jr. ended Matlock Season 1 in serious hot water after Matty and Edwin’s theory that he hid the missing Wellbrexa study was confirmed by Olympia herself.
“The big thing about the second season is that you had a first season where Matty was in control of everything. She was the puppet master. Coming into the second season, Olympia knows about the document and has the document in her hands,” Snyder Urman tells TV Insider. “You have this person who comes in and says he’s her grandson’s father. You’re going to see Matty, who’s a character that thrives under control… how does she behave when things are out of control? That’s going to be really interesting to watch.”
Julian hid the document because his father urged him to. Julian was much more desperate for his father’s approval when he was younger; he hoped that succeeding at the firm would improve their strained relationship. But after Senior made Jr.’s ex-wife, Olympia, partner at the family firm before his own son, Julian let go of his desire to please his dad. That doesn’t erase the crime he committed by concealing that document that proved the addictive nature of opioids.
Prison is definitely a possibility for Julian in Matlock Season 2, Snyder Urman reveals. “He could go away [to jail]. Sure,” she says. “There’s so much more to be told.” The Jane the Virgin creator shares what she thinks makes Ritter’s character so likable despite his wrongdoings.
“I think it’s just his performance. [Ritter is] such a vulnerable, open person that when he tells you the reasons [Julian did what he did], he becomes not a villain but human,” Snyder Urman explains. “Because Jason is an actor who is so accessible.”
Find out what Marshall and Ritter teased about Olympia and Julian’s future in Matlock Season 2 here.
Matlock, Season 2 Premiere, Fall 2025, CBS
— Reporting by Michael Maloney