Matlock season 1 recap: Everything to know before watching season 2

Matlock season 2 is all set to bring back the emotional and legal chaos as the doors of the courtroom reopen on October 12, 2025, with Madeline ''Matty'' Matlock bringing back her undercover instincts. Matlock season 1 ended with an unresolved chapter of the pharmaceutical company Wellbrexa, which was involved in a huge cover-up as ‘’studies showing their opioids were addictive.’’

Matty believed that the law firm, Jacobson Moore, was involved in concealing the truth, and the case was personal for her as the firm helped the company in covering up important evidence about her daughter Ellie’s death.

A retired lawyer, Matty rejoins the field only to get her daughter the justice that she deserves. The evidence was long-buried by the high-profile companies that could have possibly saved her daughter’s life.

While juggling new cases each week, her research outside the firm remains constant, and her instincts in the undercover mission proved true when Olympia learned that her ex-husband, Julian, was responsible for hiding the evidence at his father’s (Senior's) orders.

Olympia, although initially one of the suspects in Matty's case, was turned upside down when the duo became "work besties."

Matlock season 1 recap: Know the major events that happened in its first chapter

Matty carrying the secret and looking around for evidence in the firm was something Olympia had always doubted. She believed that ‘’Matty isn’t who she pretends to be,’’ and there’s something fishy about her personality.

However, in the later episodes, Olympia confronts her about the same, where Matty reveals her real reasons for joining the firm in the first place and what cover-up she has been digging into.

Now, Olympia is obviously out of the suspect list, and she even tags along with Matty to investigate the case. Complications began when Matty’s next suspect is none other than Olympia’s ex-husband and the father of her kids — Julian.

They look around for evidence before accusing him and the big firm altogether. Towards the end of the Matlock season 1 finale episode, Olympia learns that the culprit is Julian himself; however, the season was about to end on a major cliffhanger, leaving viewers wondering whether she will save Julian or reveal the truth to Matty.

However, Matty learned about it all by herself and stole the documents from Olympia's safe locker by replacing them with dummy documents. Well, how this move is going to turn out between Matty and Olympia is about to continue in season 2.

Even if she chooses to betray Matty in season 2, she has an upper hand as she knows about Matty’s undercover identity and her goal of bringing down the firm and the pharmaceutical company.

Not just saving Julain, she too has one more reason to betray Matty, and that’s her promotion at the Jacobson Moore. She got her big career goal after defeating her ex-husband and secured the position of partner at the firm.

Meanwhile, there’s a lot more drama to come in Matty’s personal life, as a stranger man appeared at her door claiming to be her grandson’s (Alfie) biological father.

In the second season of Matlock, many legal battles lie ahead as the Wellbrexa scandal will reopen. The show airs live on CBS on Thursdays at 9 ET/PT and is available to stream on Paramount+ after the broadcast.