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Critics Choice Awards 2025: Kathy Bates Wins Best Actress in a Drama Series for Matlock, Honors LA Firefighters in Acceptance Speech
Kathy Bates won Best Actress in a Drama Series at the 2025 Critics Choice Awards for Matlock, delivering an emotional speech honoring LA firefighters who battled the recent wildfires.
Kathy Bates couldn’t quite believe it when her name was announced as the Best Actress in a Drama Series victor at the 2025 Critics Choice Awards, which took place on Friday, February 7.
The actress took home the prize for her role in Matlock. Upon hearing her name, Bates was visibly shocked, her eyes doubling in size, and she couldn’t resist letting a few curses slip out. “F**k,” she said twice before standing up and moving toward the stage.
In her acceptance speech, Bates acknowledged everyone who helped her achieve this dream—but not before noting she “really didn’t think this [the award] was going to happen.”
“When we come to work every day, there’s so much love on that set and so many hundreds of years of experience—rolling that dolly, working the camera, the costumers, the prop people—they’re just the top of the line. Walking onto that set just feels like a miracle,” Bates added. “I’m so grateful to all of them.”
She then took the opportunity to shout out the firefighters who fought against the devastating Los Angeles wildfires that started on January 7. The real-life heroes were in the audience at the ceremony.
“Our producer Eric Christian Olsen had a house in Palisades, and it burned down. And so it’s very personal to us. Watching all the footage of you guys standing in line with just a wall of flames in front of you is just terrifying,” she said, getting choked up. “And I don’t know how you did it, but I thank you so much—for so many of us in Los Angeles.”
Bates then revealed a sweet gift for Olsen, saying her trophy would be the first décor in his new home whenever he finds one.
Bates plays the titular character in CBS’s Matlock, a twist on the original series that ran from 1986 to 1995 and starred Andy Griffith. Friday’s win marked her third Critics Choice nomination and her second win—she previously won in 1999 for her role in Primary Colors.
Other nominees in Bates’ category included Caitríona Balfe (Outlander), Shanola Hampton (Found), Keira Knightley (Black Doves), Keri Russell (The Diplomat), and Anna Sawai (Shōgun).
Chelsea Handler fulfilled hosting duties at the 2025 CCA.
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