Character Arc
Benjamin Leighton Matlock is a Harvard-educated criminal defense attorney who runs a successful practice in Atlanta, Georgia. He cultivates a plain, down-home image, complete with a wrinkled light-gray suit and a taste for hot dogs, but beneath the folksy exterior is a meticulous legal mind. Matlock commands a substantial fee for his services and is famous for accepting cases in which his client appears clearly guilty, only to prove otherwise.
Matlock's signature method is investigation paired with courtroom theater. He and his team comb through evidence the police overlooked, then Matlock uses cross-examination to lead the true perpetrator into a slip or an outright confession on the stand. His persistence, sharp questioning, and ability to feign confusion to lower a witness's guard define his approach across the series.
Over the course of the show Matlock is portrayed as a widower and devoted father. His daughter Charlene works alongside him early in the run as a fellow attorney, and later in the series his other daughter, Leanne MacIntyre, joins the practice. Matlock's relationships with his rotating investigators and associates add warmth and humor to the procedural format.