Kathy Bates To Retire From Hollywood After Matlock? Oscar-Winning Actress Reveals Future Career Plans

Veteran actress, Kathy Bates recently revealed that she will be retiring after her upcoming role in CBS' Matlock reboot.

By Marita Pinto

Published on Sep 09, 2024 | 05:17 PM IST | 36.3K

Kathy Bates in Matlock Trailer (Image Courtesy: YouTube)

Kathy Bates shocked fans and TV viewers by signing on to the CBS reboot of the folksy mystery thriller Matlock. Bates has focused the majority of her previous ten years of her acting career on TV projects. But the more eager fans are to see Bates on screen, the more likely it is that this will be her last role.

Kathy Bates announced that she is prepared to retire following the conclusion of Matlock's run. In an interview with The New York Times, she said, "This is my last dance." Bates actually stated that she was prepared to retire early since she had lost interest in a late-year film shoot.

But in January 2024, her representatives handed her the procedural's script, whose premise—a modern take on the traditional courtroom TV drama, starring a septuagenarian making amends—captivated the actress.

As a matter of fact, Bates revealed that she was prepared to retire early, having lost interest in a late-year film shoot (she did not disclose the title of the project). Bates talked about the amount of mental and physical attention she puts into any job she joins on for.

She reportedly called her agency the day after finishing the production and stated that she wanted to retire; that statement seemed to hold true for a few weeks, at least, until the Matlock pilot screenplay was handed to her by those same agents. She told the outlet, "It becomes my life. Sometimes I get jealous of having this talent. Because I can't hold it back, and I just want my life."

Bates said she instantly connected to the way the protagonist was written, even though she never developed a strong affinity for the original series, which ran for two networks from 1986 to 1995 and starred Andy Griffith as the title attorney.

The role that made Bates famous was her Academy Award-winning performance as Annie Wilkes in the 1990 film Misery, which tells the story of a violent recluse who kidnaps an acclaimed novelist. She later had storylines on TV series like The Office, Six Feet Under, Two and a Half Men, and American Horror Story: Coven.

Matlock, which has an 18-episode order, will also star Beau Bridges, Skye P. Marshall, and Jason Ritter.

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