50 Fun Facts About Matlock

What is Ben Matlock's profession?

Most episodes end with him cross-examining a witness on the stand until the real culprit cracks.

In which city does Ben Matlock practise law?

He lives in a modest farmhouse in the suburbs and likes to visit crime scenes himself.

Matlock debuted on which network in March 1986?

It moved to ABC in November 1992 and ran there until the finale in May 1995.

Who created Matlock?

Hargrove also created the 1980s Perry Mason TV films, which explains the family resemblance.

What colour suit does Ben Matlock almost always wear?

His cars are grey too: three successive Ford Crown Victorias, a nod to Griffith's long association with Ford.

What is Ben Matlock's favourite food?

The season eight episode "The Diner" plays the obsession for laughs.

What retainer does the famously frugal Matlock usually charge his clients?

He waives it often enough when he believes a client is innocent or broke.

Which car does Ben Matlock drive throughout the series?

He goes through three generations of the model over nine seasons.

From which law school did Ben Matlock graduate?

He worked as a public defender before going into private practice.

In season one, Matlock's law partner is his daughter. What is her name?

Lori Lethin played her in the pilot film and Linda Purl in the series; the character moved to Philadelphia after season one.

Matlock's first private investigator, Tyler Hudson, had what other talent?

Kene Holliday played him and often went undercover in disguise; he was let go after season three.

Matlock's most frequent courtroom opponent, district attorney Julie March, comes from which state?

Julie Sommars played her; the two become good friends despite facing off in court.

Where does Matlock meet his second law partner, Michelle Thomas, at the start of season two?

Nancy Stafford's character, an American lawyer working abroad, follows him back to Atlanta.

Investigator Conrad McMasters, played by Clarence Gilyard Jr., had which two former careers?

Gilyard left after season seven for a starring role on another CBS drama.

Which series did Clarence Gilyard leave Matlock to join in 1993?

He came back once, in the season eight episode "The View".

Which Andy Griffith Show co-star turned up on Matlock as neighbour Les "Ace" Calhoun?

Knotts and Griffith had first worked together in the 1958 film No Time for Sergeants.

Brynn Thayer joined the regular cast in season seven as Leanne MacIntyre, who is what to Ben?

She had first appeared as a murder suspect Ben fell for, then as the previously unmentioned daughter who took on a murdered mayor's case.

Ben's last law partner, Cliff, is the son of which figure from Matlock's past?

Ben had once abandoned a romance with Billy's sister to pursue his law career, so Billy is as much nemesis as friend.

The season nine investigator Jerri Stone shared which hobby with Ben?

Carol Huston's character was noted for her lullabies; Conrad had also sung with Ben.

How many episodes of Matlock aired in total?

That is fewer than the 249 episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, but Griffith logged more screen time as Matlock because the episodes were an hour.

Where was Matlock filmed for its NBC seasons?

Griffith commuted from his home in North Carolina; when ABC took over, production moved to Wilmington to spare him the trip.

When Matlock moved to ABC, production shifted to studios in which North Carolina city?

The format also changed from a whodunit to an inverted detective story, where viewers see the crime first.

Which CBS series was spun off from a two-part season-one Matlock episode called "The Don"?

William Conrad's prosecutor J. L. McShane debuted there; Diagnosis: Murder was in turn spun off from Jake and the Fatman.

In a Diagnosis: Murder crossover, Matlock blames Dr. Mark Sloan for a 1969 investment that cost him $5,000. In what?

That, the story goes, is why he lives on hot dogs.

Which production outfit, named for a former network president, produced Matlock with Viacom?

Silverman and Hargrove also ran Perry Mason, Jake and the Fatman and Diagnosis: Murder.

Matlock's format is closest to which earlier legal series, whose 1980s TV films came from the same creator?

One difference: Mason usually cleared his client at a pretrial hearing, while Matlock won acquittals from juries.

By its final season, Matlock had largely become what?

Griffith was 66 and wanted more time with his family.

Nancy Stafford first appeared on Matlock in season one playing what kind of character?

Several future regulars, including Kari Lizer and Daniel Roebuck, first showed up as one-off characters.

Kari Lizer's Cassie Phillips held what job in Matlock's office?

She wanted to become his partner after his previous associate left, then vanished from the show without explanation.

Ben's police contact for the first six seasons was Lieutenant Bob Brooks. Who played him?

James McEachin's Lieutenant Frank Daniels had filled the role in season one.

Andy Griffith was born in 1926 in which North Carolina town?

As a baby he slept in dresser drawers because his parents could not afford a crib.

Andy Griffith's 1953 comic monologue has a country parson trying to make sense of what?

"What It Was, Was Football" was picked up by Capitol Records and became a hit.

Griffith debuted in 1957 as a manipulative drifter-turned-TV star in which Elia Kazan film?

Written by Budd Schulberg, it co-starred Patricia Neal, Walter Matthau and Lee Remick.

Griffith's Broadway breakthrough was as a country boy in the Air Force in which play?

The 1958 film version paired him with Don Knotts for the first time.

Griffith lost the 1960 Tony for Distinguished Musical Actor, for Destry Rides Again, to whom?

The show ran for 472 performances with a score by Harold Rome.

Andy Griffith died on July 3 of which year?

His career had spanned seven decades in music, stage and television.

The 2024 Matlock reboot on CBS stars which actress as Madeline "Matty" Matlock?

Her wealthy retired lawyer poses as an impoverished widow to infiltrate the firm she blames for her daughter's death.

In the 2024 Matlock, why does Madeline Kingston go undercover at Jacobson Moore?

Within the show, the original Andy Griffith series exists, and her late daughter's love of it inspires the alias.

Who developed the 2024 Matlock reboot?

It premiered with a sneak peek in September 2024 and was renewed for a third season in January 2026.

In the reboot, Matty's boss Olympia Lawrence is played by whom?

Jason Ritter plays Julian, the senior partner Olympia is divorcing.

In which year did the original Matlock's series finale air on ABC?

The show had jumped from NBC in November 1992 and wrapped on May 7 of its final year after nine seasons.

After season one, Ben's daughter Charlene left to start her own law practice in which city?

Linda Purl's departure opened the door for Nancy Stafford's Michelle Thomas, whom Ben meets while trying a case abroad.

Which actor, son of a Three's Company star, plays senior partner Julian Markston in the reboot?

In the pilot Julian is divorcing Olympia while handling a major settlement with a big pharmaceutical firm, the case at the heart of Matty's mission.

Which veteran actor plays Howard 'Senior' Markston, the firm's managing partner, in the reboot?

Senior is Julian's father and Olympia's soon-to-be ex-father-in-law; in season two his fourth ex-wife Eva, played by Justina Machado, joins the firm's executive committee.

Matlock was the star's first regular TV series since which 1971 sitcom went off the air?

Fifteen years separated the two; Matlock then ran nine seasons and 193 episodes across NBC and ABC.

In the reboot, what is the name of Matty's genius grandson who runs the family's tech operation?

He is the son of her late daughter Ellie, seen only in flashbacks, and of Joey Danza, a drug addict; actor Aaron Harris became a series regular in season two.

Which season-eight episode humorously explores Ben Matlock's obsession with hot dogs?

A Diagnosis: Murder crossover later offered an alternate origin, blaming a ruinous 1969 tip from Dick Van Dyke's Dr. Sloan for the cheap habit.

Who played Cliff Lewis, the inexperienced young lawyer who became Ben's last partner?

He joined as a regular in season seven alongside Brynn Thayer, and Warren Frost recurred as Cliff's father, a nemesis from Ben's past.

Which Lost and ER actor plays Edwin Kingston, Matty's husband, in the 2024 series?

Edwin was recurring in season one and promoted to regular for season two, which premiered in October 2025 before a third-season renewal.

Who played Charlene Matlock in the 1986 pilot movie before Linda Purl took over the role?

The pilot also had Alice Hirson as Ben's secretary Hazel, a character who vanished once the series proper began.