The world of television is always full of surprises! And one of the biggest recently, came from Matlock, the re-imagining of the beloved series starring Kathy Bates as Madeline Matlock!
Matlock's Surprising Debut
This new version, takes us on a wild ride into a legal drama. Madeline Matlock, played by Kathy Bates, has an amazing role, she even gets into some action. A grandmother, she looks to go after those in the Jacobson Moore law firm.
But get this! A super interesting aspect might just get everyone talking. The whole show may have even used CGI to get Beau Bridges, as Senior, into the premiere episode. If you had not heard about this already, prepare to be shocked!
The Recasting of Senior
Fans know Beau Bridges is a well-loved actor who is an amazing fit for the new series!
However, if you looked at some of the early behind-the-scenes details it appears there was a switch of actors after Jamey Sheridan took the spot earlier. Sheridan played the character in the pilot originally and there is so much intrigue and interest that fans have around how things are coming together for the Matlock reboot.
This was done just prior to the premiere! There's a lot to ponder about how the filming process worked.
CGI Or Editing Magic?
There's some fun mystery to consider here, since there are plenty of interesting aspects to the behind-the-scenes of the new Matlock, It is an unsolved mystery. How did this big change come to be? Was Beau Bridges even added through CGI? Or was the episode completely edited and cut to fit the character?
- One idea is that post-production used CGI effects, making Bridges' appearances through special editing effects to make this change and create a seamless integration!
- Another option could have been using an editing approach where Bridges may have re-shot a bunch of scenes or filmed parts to be included in that original pilot, splicing in footage into what had been shown originally!
There is more mystery here. It seems the cameras weirdly zoomed into Bridges for each of his parts.
- A clue to think about is his character "Senior". It looked like he was at the board meeting!
- However, he doesn't show up in those big shots of the room!
Why The Big Changes?
It turns out that a whole lot went on behind-the-scenes to give audiences the biggest hit, including ensuring Madeline Matlock had a chance to be on-screen for fans and also, all the executives at CBS knew this would be something special. This became more significant, as they really wanted to create a consistent presentation of Matlock, making sure everything is well made!
- That meant re-shooting parts of the premiere!
- This also meant giving fans some important continuity that makes the series feel solid and complete!
It also seems a re-shoot was underway to include Bridges as Senior! And to include other characters in other scenes too. While many might think the whole effort must have cost millions!
Instead, it looks like Matlock had a special, unique approach, to get Bridges into the show! With edits made in post-production! This could have meant the prior actor, Sheridan, was edited out!
The Writers' Strike And Its Impact
There were plenty of challenges involved to bring Matlock to life. And that was made even more intense because of a major event: the writers' strike!
The show that's under Jennie Snyder Urman had been planned well in advance as CBS gave them the nod back in May 2023! Unfortunately, there was no way for everything to go forward smoothly because of this major production setback! The original start was in the 2023-2024 television cycle. That entire period was set back because of the delays!
While most stars managed to be on-board and willing to return despite the strike and delays! Sheridan was never on board and this caused this massive casting switcheroo and forced some big editing and reshoots.
A Big Success:
Even with all this craziness Matlock debuted and was amazing! That's because CBS worked hard and the effort brought a premiere episode! This created major attention!
Not only was the release CBS's largest release, excluding the Superbowl, in 5 years! Even more amazing, the episode got a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes!
While viewers may not ever be aware of these interesting behind-the-scenes elements! What we have seen is that even big names can experience major changes! Matlock and "Senior" showed just that. A team effort is what's most essential! These big challenges did not derail the project!
For anyone interested in television's ability to transform and re-imagine and bring beloved series to life! Then you can't go without seeing the debut of "Matlock."
