Matlock (1986 TV series)

Matlock is an American mystery legal drama television series created by Dean Hargrove and starring Andy Griffith in the title role of criminal defense attorney Ben Matlock. Debuting on March 3, 1986, the series aired on NBC until the sixth-season finale on May 8, 1992; it was moved to ABC on November 5, 1992, continuing there for the remainder of its run until the series finale aired on May 7, 1995. The series was produced by The Fred Silverman Company (formerly Intermedia Entertainment Company until 1986) and Dean Hargrove Productions (formerly Strathmore Productions until 1988) in association with Viacom Productions. This series marked Griffith's return to a series for the first time since The New Andy Griffith Show ended in 1971. The show's format is similar to that of CBS' Perry Mason (both Matlock and the 1980s Perry Mason television films were created by Dean Hargrove), with Matlock identifying the perpetrators and then confronting them in dramatic courtroom scenes. One difference, however, was that whereas Mason usually exculpated his clients at a pretrial hearing, Matlock usually secured an acquittal at trial from the jury. A gender flipping reboot, starring Kathy Bates, premiered on CBS on September 22, 2024.