If you were just getting used to having new episodes of Matlock every Thursday night on CBS, don't get too comfortable yet. After the second season returned from its months-long hiatus in late February, the network will be once again pulling the hit legal drama from the schedule.
Following its last airing of 2025 in December, Matlock took a break for the holidays and remained off the air to make way for the Winter Olympics on NBC. The second season resumed with new episodes on February 26 and aired three consecutive new episodes each Thursday thereafter. However, after the latest new episode on March 12, we'll be without new episodes for at least two weeks.
There's no new episode of Matlock season 2 on Thursday, March 19 due to CBS' airing of the NCAA March Madness 2026 basketball games. On that evening, CBS will be preempting its entire Thursday night lineup, also including Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, Ghosts, and Elsbeth. The network's Friday night lineup the evening after will also not air new episodes.
Matlock pulled from CBS schedule for the rest of March 2026
But that's not the only week that Matlock fans will have to deal without a new episode. The following week, on March 26, there also won't be a new episode of the legal drama. That's two weeks in row of the show being off the air after only getting new episodes back for three weeks, which in turn was after an over two-month break. Scheduling changes this close to the finale aren't ideal.
Television fans should be used to the expectedly unexpected nature of networks pulling shows from the schedule for sporting or other special events or airing reruns for certain weeks to stretch out the season. No one likes the constant flip flopping, especially when the streaming era has mostly done away with that, either due to binge drops or uninterrupted weekly releases.
But for the case of Matlock season 2, taking a short break — which will hopefully be the last one for the season — it makes sense, and I'll tell you why. This season reportedly only has 16 episodes, which is down from last season's 19-episode order. Even with the two-month break for the Olympics, if CBS wants to keep the hit show on the air through spring, some breaks are definitely in order.
Thankfully, we won't have to wait nearly as long for new episodes after this break. Matlock season 2 will return on Thursday, April 2 with the final five episodes of the season. If the season continues without breaks, the finale could air on April 30, but any additional breaks would push the finale into May. For now, let's stay patient and keep watching Matty's journey unfold!