Matlock wrapped the first half of Season 2 back in December on the cliffhanger reveal that none other than Julian had connected the dots about Olympia's alliance with Matty that happens to leave him out. Now, the hit drama is returning in the 2026 TV schedule, and Jason Ritter opened up to CinemaBlend about how the two women "can't go back" to before Julian knew what they were up to. It'll be messy for the characters, but was "so satisfying" for him as an actor.
The winter premiere of Matlock Season 2 airs on Thursday, February 26 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS to follow up on the fall finale with its tragic twist. (You can stream the fall finale with a Paramount+ subscription now.) Called "Collateral," the first episode of the new year will feature both Matty and Olympia putting together collateral for Julian after his trust was broken over the discovery that the two women were deeply in cahoots.
The storyline picks up where it left off back in December, when Julian followed his instincts that something was off with his ex-wife, connected some dots, and saw with his own eyes that Olympia was handing the Wellbrexa file off to Matty. So, how did it feel for Jason Ritter that Julian was able to connect those dots for himself, when he's so frequently kept out of any and all information loops? The upcoming Lanterns cast member shared:
It was so satisfying because Julian's been in the dark up to that point, as far as their whole plan has been, even when he knows that Olympia has figured out about the Wellbrexa file being removed at the end of Season 1. We've never seen Julian pull this kind of Matlock flashbacky thing, and so when I got to the end of the episode, when I was reading it, and it was me fooling everybody else, I was very excited. It's one of those moments that everything is different and you can't go back. A door has been opened that cannot be shut.
Whether or not Julian is a super spy after chasing down the truth for himself at the end of 2025, Olympia and Matty are going to have to deal with the son of Senior knowing more. Even Olympia wouldn't have wanted him to find out the way that he did: via snooping, eavesdropping, and the creative use of an AirPod. Ritter went on:
He's always going to have seen Olympia hand that Wellbrexa study, his greatest, deepest secret to this lady who works with her in the office. [laughs] He doesn't know what's going on. It's been really fun to have that moment where we see a little bit of Julian's brilliance and ability to manipulate the people around him, that it's not just Matty and Olympia who can pull that kind of trick.
While Julian does have information that was being kept from him for a long time, he also doesn't really have an ally to confide in, which could be dangerous for Olympia and Matty. The clock may be ticking on them to act before Senior wakes up from his hospital bed and becomes another variable.
Of course, there's no guarantee about when Senior will be up and about after being hospitalized, if at all. But does Julian have it in him to run any kind of long con on Matty and Olympia now that the shoe is on the other foot? Jason Ritter shared:
It seems like this was about as far as he could go, just sort of taking four or five days to figure out what's going on, and doing some amateur tracking and spy work. I don't know if he would have it in him to pull the kind of thing that Matty has done, pretending to be a whole different person who lives in another place. He also probably wouldn't have the resources for that.
Matty definitely has some advantages that Julian doesn't when it comes to maintaining a massive lie. Not only is Madeline Kingston a wealthy woman with a loving husband and comfortable home, but Matty Matlock was completely new to everybody at the firm. Julian has literally spent the first two seasons working directly under his dad and alongside his ex-wire, so he just can't keep secrets as easily as Matty. Jason Ritter went on:
But I do think he's realized that the game that they've been playing, is on a level that he didn't ever think he had to play at, so I think he definitely starts off this second half of the season feeling like a real underdog in terms of intellectual capability and things like that. [laughs] He knows that these two women have been spinning circles around him, and so even to try to trust Olympia again is a tough road for him. I think he's broken more people's trusts than he's ever had his trust broken, and it's tougher to be on that side, trying to build your trust back up, brick at a time.
Should fans be rooting for Julian as a classic underdog story, or pulling for Matty and Olympia to get him in line before he can spread the secret? Only time will tell how it plays out, but at least fans don't have to worry about Matlock running out of episodes. CBS renewed the drama for Season 3 before the winter premiere.
It's hard to imagine how the Wellbrexa case can be stretched into a third season, but Matty has been pulling off surprise twists going back to the pilot. Perhaps there's still a lot of mileage left in Matty's quest to get justice for her daughter.
The winter premiere of Matlock airs on Thursday, Ferbruary 26 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, ahead of Elsbeth's Season 3 return with a former Good Wife actor as a brand new character. You can also revisit older episodes streaming on Paramount+.
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