Season 1 - Episode Guide

In this 90 minutes pilot, a popular Atlanta attorney, Ben Matlock and his daughter Charlene defend TV journalist Steve Emerson who is accused of killing Linda Coolidge, his ex-wife.

Matlock accepts the pro bono case of Kevin Meredith, a young man accused of murdering his lover, whom Matlock soon realises had a much more powerful lover. In order to capture the real killer, Matlock must throw away a many-years-long friendship with a prominent judge.

Ben defends an exotic dancer accused of murdering her ex-husband, a man determined to have her declared an unfit mother.

A socialite retains Matlock to defend her husband's accused killer, a maid who won't help her own defense.

Ben defends an over-the-hill quarterback with a reputation as a womanizer who is accused of killing his team-owner girlfriend.

When Nicholas Baron, a well known mobster, is accused of murdering one of his rivals, he asks Ben and Charlene to represent him. Ben initially refuses, but agrees to represent Baron despite threats on his own life. He soon meets the entire family, and realises that despite what Baron has always done for a living, at heart he's a worried father who wants to clear his name.

Even though they've lost a key witness, Matlock keeps defending Nicholas Baron. Daniel tries to convince Matlock that his father just can't handle any stress due to his heart condition, but Nicholas continues to beg Matlock to clear his name. While Matlock investigates a suspect closer to home than Baron would want, Charlene blows her chance at a relationship with Paul when she can't separate the man from the legend.

Two sisters with a penchant for murder do away with their rich aunt and frame their uncle, whom Matlock agrees to defend.

Detective Joe Peters has been accused of taking bribes and murdering a fence, and also suspected in the death of a fellow cop. When it comes right down to it, one of the other cops on the force was more involved than they should have been.

Matlock reluctantly agrees to hire free-spirited rock star Angel after Charlene reveals she's already taken the job for them. Angel has been accused of killing her manager, and due to an alcohol induced black-out, can't even offer herself an alibi for the night. Matlock gets more and more angry when Angel continues to ignore his suggestions at toning down her life-style, but luckily he's able to get through to her before her attitude gets her convicted of murder.

Professor Erskine Tate wakes from a drunken stupor behind the wheel of his car. He doesn't know how he got there or what happened. When he's accused of having hit a mailman during his drunken joyride, he goes to a former student, Ben Matlock, for help, and Ben investigates two students and a teaching assistant.

When a down-on-his luck Santa Claus is accused of killing the landlord who was about to evict not only him but everyone else in the apartment complex, the people in his building take up a collection and come to Matlock to ask him to defend him. They may not like Tom, but none of them believe him guilty of murder. Matlock ignores his own misgivings about a man he can't help but dislike and agrees to defend Tom.

Michael and Victoria Edwards may be divorced, but unfortunately, she couldn't keep him from being a guest on her show. When Michael dies after testing out the dish they were cooking, Victoria is immediately charged with his murder. Matlock agrees to defend her, and gets some good home cooking in the bargain.

Mary Ann Newton has written a book (Secret Confessions) that purports to be fiction, but upon a deeper look, it seems to be an expose on the citizens of a small town. When an attempt made on her life gets a local reverend instead, Matlock is called in to defend the suspected killer. As the case goes on, Matlock realises that Ms. Newton may not be the right target for the would-be killer.

When cookie entrepreneur Adam Gardner's girlfriend is found dead in his hot tub, the case against him looks bleak, especially when an eye witness points the finger at him. After his corporate lawyers advise him to plead guilty, Gardner hires Ben Matlock to defend him, hence Matlock and Tyler travel to Beverly Hills. While Matlock believes in his client's innocence, the more he learns about the victim, the greater the motive his client has, especially once love letters turn up that were exchanged between the victim and Josh Sinclair, Adam's supposed best friend.

Kathy Warren was a private nurse working for the St. Johns. One night while she was out, Peter St. John died, and when it was determined to be murder, she was the prime suspect. She hired Matlock to defend her, offering her engagement ring as a fee. After Lacey St. John told A.D.A. Julie March that the ring had been stolen from their home, Matlock realised that something wasn't right in the St. John house, and that someone was lying to him.

Matlock gets a second chance at justice when a former client, convicted of murder, kills an inmate in self-defense.

Ben is hired by a friend to defend his son, who is in the army, who's been charged with killing the sadistic lieutenant, whose mistreatment of his men led to the death of his friend. Ben begs Tyler to do undercover in the Army, because Chris's father and Gen. Connors both had to go all the way to the pentagon to get Tyler's & Chris' platoon. In the midst of the hearing, the defendant is gone.

As the case progresses, Ben discovers that the lieutenant and four other officers may have been involved in some kind of illegal activities. Charlene and Tyler have both been working undercover, getting close to one of those officers, examines him on the stand and he reveals that they have been smuggling drugs. Ben then examines one of the officers and has him reveal to the court the scar that the lieutenant left on him after he killed him. He then reveals that he and the other two officers drew straws on who would kill him cause, an investigation might reveal their activities.

Matlock is hired to defend a popular actor when he's accused of killing the man who ran the sex-therapy clinic where he was staying, ostensibly for releasing his name to the press. He's got a temporary thorn in his side, though, in the form of Cassie Phillips, a law student he once made an off-hand comment to about looking him up for a job, as a lawyer's assistant, who is taking advantage of him in not doing the job he asked her to do. Tyler told Matlock that Cassie was kidnapped at the clinic, pretending Kimberly Bradshaw was not there.

While defending union boss Gerald O'Hara, who has been accused of murdering his chief rival for his seat, Matlock is furious when juror number seven comes forward to announce that he was paid off by Matlock to vote a certain way. Luckily for Matlock, Julie knows him well enough to know he would never take a bribe, and she helps him prove that he's innocent, and that his client was railroaded by the same man who tried to bring him down.

Amy Adler had a juvenile record before becoming a photographer's assistant, who'd been terminated for coming to work late. When the photographer she used to work for is murdered, she begs Matlock to help her out. While pro bono cases aren't usually his style, something about the feisty young woman catches his interest, and he agrees to help her out. Amy is beaten up by a man, causing her best dress to get ruined, when she got supplies from the studio. Tyler rescues her and heard she took the man's picture.

When Laurie Palmer is arrested for killing her husband, the reporter covering the case is convinced of her innocence, and goes to Ben Matlock looking for help.

Habitually angry Dr Dave Westlake supervises a team of doctors and threatens them with bad performance reviews before being killed. Team member Bruce Jacobs finds the body and they all become suspects.