For decades, Kathy Bates has been both celebrated and underrated. When she won an Oscar for her fearsome performance in Rob Reiner’s 1990 Stephen King adaptation of “Misery,” she was greeted as a newcomer, even though she had made her film debut nearly 20 years earlier in Miloš Forman’s “Taking Off.” Her career since then has included Oscar noms for “Primary Colors,” “About Schmidt” and “Richard Jewell,” 14 Emmy nominations and two wins for “Two and a Half Men”and “American Horror Story: Coven,” and a varied resume that boasts both dramas like “Dolores Claiborne” and “Titanic” and comedies like “The Waterboy.”
Bates’ latest role is the title character in Jennie Snyder Urman’s “Matlock,” which borrows its name from the Andy Griffith legal drama from the 1980s and ’90s but knowingly subverts it in the process: Bates’ Madeline Kingston, aka Matty Matlock, solves cases just as Griffith’s Matlock had done, but it turns out that she’s playing the role of Matty in order to infiltrate a law firm that hid evidence on behalf of a pharmaceutical company that was complicit in the opioid-related death of her daughter.
The series is the most successful new show on broadcast television this season, and it could well bring Bates, who is 76, a rare Emmy nomination for a lead role. (So far, 10 of her 13 Emmy noms for acting have come in supporting and guest categories.)
I was sitting one table away from you at the Critics Choice Awards in January. And when you won the Best Actress in a Drama Award for “Matlock,” the room seemed completely thrilled, and you seemed absolutely shocked.
I was gobsmacked. I was sure that Anna Sawai (from “Shōgun”) was going to win. I never thought in a million years I would win. That’s why I didn’t get all dressed up. People thought I’d come from riding a Harley or something.
Has “Matlock” been a surprise for you in other ways, too?
It’s been a surprise in every way. I’m surprised that the material is so wonderful, and surprised that Jennie is consistently someone I love working with, and surprised that (CBS Entertainment President) Amy Reisenbach and (CBS President and CEO) George Cheeks and (CBS Studios President) David Stapf are such wonderful people, and that the cast gets along so well. And surprised, of course, at what a tremendous audience response we’ve had. It’s just unbelievable, right?
When I watched the first episode, I thought it was going to be a law show with a different case each week until the last few minutes of the show, when your character’s real intentions were revealed. And that changed everything. What was your reaction when you first read it?
It was exactly the same. I had no expectations, and I had not seen Jennie’s other show, “Jane the Virgin,” which I hear was very successful. As I began to read, I thought, “Oh, I’ve done this before, and I don’t know if I’m interested in playing another lawyer.” And then when I got to the twist at the end, I thought, “OK, now we’re talking about a character that has a cause.” It just blew everything wide open. And it was also about the opioid crisis, which I know from personal experience. Years ago, when I had breast cancer, I wanted to have more medication, and my doctors were very reluctant. And now I understand why. That’s how 90% of people get addicted, because of injuries or surgery. So it’s been a very sobering journey.
Knowing that, did you respond to the script immediately?
They gave me a script on Friday, and I met with Jennie on Monday. I liked her very much, and we settled down right away and got to work. I had a million questions that I had written down over the weekend. When I sat down, I remember saying to her, “I love this. Don’t change a word. Let’s talk about this character.” And then I just dove right in.
What kinds of questions did you have?
I have the list here somewhere. I keep everything. Let me see if I can find it. (A minute later) Found it! (reading) How do you see this character, Matty? What would Matty have to do to create her character? What about her age? I’m 74, that’s too old for a daughter. What does her husband do? How rich are they? How did they make their money? How many episodes have you written? Can I see them? Who will be directing the pilot? Where do you see the series going after the first season? Does Matty solve the case during the first season? And I said to Jennie, “I don’t want this to start out unique and turn into ‘Boston Legal.’” I wanted to know, Will Matty be arguing in court? Who else was in the cast? Will we have rehearsal time? That is really important to me.
(Laughs) So that’s good, right? All of those questions. I ran across this list of questions recently and I went, “Whoa, I’m really granular.”
Has that been typical for you over the years?
This one was very unusual because of Jennie and who she is. She wants to know everything that’s going on, and any questions that I have, she gets back to me right away. She’s very transparent. I can sit and talk to her, and that has not always been the case. I don’t want to go into details or name any names, but that has not always been my experience. Often times you’re cast, and the next time you see the creator is on the set. And maybe I didn’t push hard enough to say, “Look, I want to sit down and talk to you about this.”
Matty is consistently dismissed and underrated because of her age and her gender. Has that happened to you in Hollywood?
I don’t want to beat a dead horse, because I’ve talked about this before, but yes. I thank God for Ryan Murphy, because he really helped me rejuvenate my career after being sick with cancer. At that time, when I had my mastectomy back in 2012, I was feeling like my career was over.
I remember when I got sick, I said, “I don’t feel like a woman.” And my doctor said, “You have the Y chromosome, you’re a woman. Every cell of you is a woman.” But I think especially when you have your breasts removed, it’s difficult for a woman. I was older and I just felt, “This is it. I’m done.”
And “Harry’s Law” (a 2011-2012 show starring Bates) had been canceled, specifically because (then NBC Entertainment Chairman) Bob Greenblatt said at the TCAs, “We cannot monetize this show with an older audience,” even though we had amazing numbers. I found it very unfair and very disconcerting. And I can’t tell you how many people I’ve run into over the years who have said, “What happened to ‘Harry’s Law’?”
So it’s lovely to be able to have “Matlock” satisfy all those people that were upset about “Harry’s Law.”
You have done a huge range of things over the years. Are you happy with where your career took you, or do you have regrets?
I would have obviously loved to do more leads, more meaty roles like (the 1995 film) “Dolores Claiborne,” which unfortunately did not get the attention we deserved that year. I also think, candidly, that my weight played a part of that. I do look back and regret that we were not able to do “’night, Mother” after we had done it on Broadway. (Bates and Anne Pitoniak were nominated for Tony Awards for their performances in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, but Sissy Spacek and Anne Bancroft were given the roles in the 1986 film version.) I have regrets when I look back and think, “Gee, I wish I could have done this, I could have done that.” But there we go. I don’t regret the four Oscar nominations.
So with the success of “Matlock,” where do you want to go from here?
I’d love for “Matlock” to run for five years or more. I love working on it and I want to see where Jennie goes with it. And if there is a wonderful movie role that comes down the pike during hiatus, I would love to do that. But I would need to do something great if I was going to do a film. And other than that, I’m just really enjoying this TV schedule.
A version of this story first appeared in the Drama Issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine. Read more from the issue here.
