Television

If you wonder how the blue-chip TV networks produce successful compelling shows with broad audience appeal, binge the new Matlock series starring Kathy Bates. It premiered in September and has already been renewed for a second season. The old Matlock starred Andy Griffith as the “aw shucks” wily old defense lawyer finding the real culprit. The new Matlock has Bates as a wealthy lawyer masquerading as a retired rusty attorney raising a grandson, who desperately needs the job. Turns out she is desperate – not for money but to find out who is responsible for her daughter’s opioid addiction and death. How she lands the job at the law firm, and arranges her way onto the big pharma team there is a compelling story, worthy of a streaming service thriller without the nasty collateral damage. 

This re-imagining is successful because of Bates’ lifelong experience with complex dramatic roles. This role is written with exactly her experience and age in mind, in the very first episode she reveals a Hollywood truism and uses it to her character’s advantage. “As women get older they become damn near invisible. No one sees us coming.” You can’t watch Bates act without recalling her edgy roles. She takes a close-up well, without over-acting. Matlock is an ensemble show, with a supporting cast of very beautiful younger people, but Matlock is Bates’ Emmy-worthy role for this year. 

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TV loves a spy thriller, and Special Ops: Lioness is no exception: returning for its second season, the show delivers.

Lioness was created by Taylor Sheridan after the success of his show Yellowstone and its subsequent prequels 1883 and 1923. The series follows an all-female CIA program that deals with undercover operations regarding the war on terror. Throughout the series, we watch as Joe juggles her personal and professional life, learning how to keep the two separate when deep undercover.

The show stars Zoe Saldaña (Avatar, Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Trek) as Joe, a clandestine intelligence officer in charge of the field division of the CIA program Lioness, and Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos, Nine Perfect Strangers, The Perfect Couple) as her boss Kaitlyn Meade. Also featured in the show is Morgan Freeman (Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption, Se7en), who is returning from his guest spot in season 1 as United States Secretary of State Edwin Mullins. Guests for season 2 include creator Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone, Sons of Anarchy) as former Delta Force operator Cody Spears, Kirk Acevedo (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Thin Red Line) as DEA Special Agent Gutierrez, and Robyn Lively (Teen Witch, The Karate Kid: Part III) as Senator Albright.

The final episode of Season 2 airs December 8 on Paramount+.

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Science fiction drama hit Silo is coming back for a second season.

Silo is set in a dystopian futuristic society where humanity has been confined to a giant underground silo. Within 144 levels of living, the community depicted has almost no information about how they came to live inside the structure, and very little information about what awaits them outside. Everyone is convinced that the air outside is toxic and ensures the death of anyone who breathes it… except for a few doubters.

The series follows Rebecca Ferguson (Dune: Part One, Mission: Impossible, The Greatest Showman) as Juliette Nichols, an engineer who works with the generators that power the entirety of the Silo. Also starring are Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation, The Social Network) as Allison Becker and David Oyelowo (Lawmen: Bass Reeves, Selma) as Holston Becker, a couple attempting to conceive a child amidst growing doubt that the Silo is really as necessary as everyone believes. Rounding out the cast are Common (Suicide Squad, Never Have I Ever), Tim Robbins (Mystic River, The Player), and Harriet Walter (Sense and Sensibility, The Young Victoria) as leading members of the Silo community.

Silo is based on a series of the same name, originally published on Kindle Direct Publishing before accepting a print-only deal with Simon & Schuster.

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