Emmy Awards 2024: Kathy Bates Is NOT Ready To Hang Up Her Boots Yet!

Kathy Bates isn't ready to bid farewell to her illustrious Hollywood career just yet. In an exclusive chat, the 76-year-old actress discussed her recent remarks about the CBS reboot of Matlock possibly being her final project before retirement.Emmy Awards 2024 Live Streaming | Emmy Awards 2024 Winners List Addressing the social media buzz surrounding her comments to PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly at the 2024 Emmy Awards, Bates expressed her gratitude: “I was very flattered” by the response. She then clarified her position on retirement, saying, “What I meant was I had one foot out the door until I read the script for Matlock. And then I read some Matlock and I went ‘Okay, close the door we are going to do some more!' I want it to run for years, it’s that great.”

The reboot of the classic 1987 series will shift focus from the original's defense lawyer Benjamin Matlock (played by Andy Griffith) to Bates’ character, Madeline Matlock. In this new iteration, Madeline re-enters the legal field as a senior, using her seemingly unassuming demeanor to win cases. Bates expressed her excitement about the upcoming series, telling PEOPLE, “We’re so excited. It’s unlike anything you have ever seen, there’s a whole other thing going on, there’s a whole twist that people will really be surprised at. We got a great cast.” "Matlock" is set to premiere on CBS on September 22. Earlier this month, Bates had hinted to The New York Times that the series might be her "last dance." She revealed she was contemplating retirement after being moved to tears following a challenging film shoot. “It becomes my life,” she shared. “Sometimes I get jealous of having this talent. Because I can’t hold it back, and I just want my life.” Reflecting on her career, Bates added, “Everything I’ve prayed for, worked for, clawed my way up for, I am suddenly able to be asked to use all of it,” while also acknowledging the toll it takes: “It’s exhausting.”