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

As a long-time admirer of Kathy Bates‘ exceptional talent and captivating performances, I find her decision to retire after the conclusion of Matlock both heartbreaking and understandable. Over the years, she has graced our screens with unforgettable characters that have left an indelible mark on popular culture. From her Academy Award-winning role as Annie Wilkes in Misery to her memorable turns on shows like The Office and American Horror Story: Coven, Bates has proven time and again that she is a force to be reckoned with.


Fans and television viewers were taken aback as Kathy Bates joined the CBS revival of the quaint mystery-thriller Matlock. For nearly a decade, Bates has predominantly been involved in TV roles. However, with increasing excitement from fans to witness her on screen, it seems this role might be one of her final appearances.

Kathy Bates has shared her plans to retire once the series Matlock ends, as she expressed in an interview with The New York Times, “This is my final performance.” Interestingly, Bates mentioned that she was ready to retire earlier than expected due to losing enthusiasm for a late-year movie production.

However, in January 2024, her representatives delivered to her a screenplay for a procedural, which concept – a contemporary reinterpretation of the classic courtroom television series featuring an elderly character seeking redemption – caught the actress’s interest.

In actuality, Bates shared her plan to retire sooner rather than later, as she had grown weary of a forthcoming movie production (she declined to mention the film’s title). Bates often discusses the substantial mental and physical effort she invests in every project she decides to take on.

After wrapping up production, she allegedly contacted her agency the next day, expressing her wish to retire. This sentiment appeared to be valid for a few weeks, until her former agents presented her with the Matlock pilot script. In an interview, she confessed, “It consumes me. At times, I feel envious of this gift. I can’t suppress it, and I yearn for my life.

Bates found herself immediately resonating with the character portrayal in the story, despite not having formed a deep attachment to the initial show, which spanned over two television networks from 1986 to 1995, with Andy Griffith playing the lead role of the 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. 

In the upcoming season of Matlock, we’ll see Beau Bridges, Skye P. Marshall, and Jason Ritter joining the cast alongside the main character. This season is set to have 18 episodes.

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2024-09-09 14:52