Her version of Matlock is a seemingly shy, sweet old lady who no one expects to go for the throat. Her Matty is also a lawyer, but a corporate lawyer who is back in the workforce after long years away due to personal trauma. She sneaks into a fancy firm and starts showing the young people what’s what, all while pursuing her own agenda (there’s a fabulous twist at the end of the first episode that I won’t give away, but be sure to watch the episode to the end).

Matty surprises not only the audience and her legal enemies, but also her colleagues and superiors, like boss Olympia (Skye P. Marshall), a black woman and top lawyer who had to work harder than her peers to get where she is in her career. Olympia is constantly at odds with her ex-husband and corporate nepo baby Julian (Jason Ritter, who is good at sucking up). Matty is a thorn in Olympia’s side and new career competition for junior partners Billy (David Del Rio) and Sarah (Leah Lewis). Firm head Senior (Beau Bridges) watches the sideshow instigated by Madeline with amused disinterest and appears to hire Madeline for personal fun, but watches her closely.

It’s a large cast, but creator Jennie Snyder Urman (“Jane the Virgin,” “Charmed”) has balanced the ensemble well in the humorous and well-paced scripts. In the first two episodes provided for review, there was time to get to know everyone And win two different legal battles. The best crime shows can do both, and Matlock, especially after its big twist, certainly has ambitions as big as some of our best crime shows.