Older actors are really thriving on television right now. Matlock, starring Kathy Bates, is just the latest TV show to give an older actor a refreshing role that reinvigorates their career. Two of the best examples of this trend are Only Murders in the Building and Tulsa King. These are such special shows because they’re perfectly tailored to their leads, but still complex enough that it doesn’t feel like one-note typecasting. Only Murders in the Building, which Steve Martin co-created, is Martin’s best role in decades. He gets to play snarky in the way that he’s so good at, but also gets weighty stories like his guilt at never fully knowing his stunt double Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch).
Meanwhile, Martin Short’s character is plenty goofy and neurotic, but he also has a romantic plot where he has genuine chemistry with his love interest Meryl Streep. On Tulsa King, Sylvester Stallone is his usual tough guy character, but he also has softer scenes, especially with co-star Dana Delaney. Not only are there more television roles than ever for actors in their late 70s or 80s, but the quality of the roles is incredible. This year, several older actors with long film careers have expressed their excitement at finding great new roles thanks to television.
The boom of older actors on television isn’t just limited to star vehicles built around an actor’s established persona. Older actors are also getting supporting roles that show range audiences may not have realized they were capable of. For example, Christopher Walken and John Turturro are a highlight of Severance, playing out a will-they-won’t-they that’s completely unique and surprising. Patti Lupone on Agatha All Along and Harrison Ford on Shrinking are two shining examples of older actors recently finding supporting roles that have allowed them to connect to a new audience and show their range.
Kathy Bates Was Considering “Semi-Retirement” Before ‘Matlock’
Perhaps the biggest sign that television is now the best place for older actors is the story of Kathy Bates taking on Matlock. Bates has four Oscar nominations and one win. Her most recent nomination was only five years ago for Richard Jewell. She is widely considered to be one of the best actors alive. Before reading the script for Matlock and meeting series creator Jennie Urman, Bates hadn’t planned to take on another TV show. She told Hollywood Reporter, “Quite frankly, I was thinking about going into semi-retirement.” She was surprised not only to find a TV role she was so excited to take but by what a hit the show became, stating, “It’s a miracle; we all keep pinching ourselves.” Bates added, “I really can’t believe all this, especially at my age.” It was a TV show, not a movie, that not only sparked enough interest to prevent Bates from retiring but also resonated with audiences and became a hit. Both Bates’ interest in the show and its success can be attributed to the lead being a strong, complex role. These kinds of great roles for actors over 70 are part of an overall pattern on TV right now.
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A Nude Jason Segel Convinced Harrison Ford to Join ‘Shrinking’
Harrison Ford gives fellow ‘Shrinking’ co-star Jason Segel the biggest compliment.
Harrison Ford Gets To Do Something Totally New on ‘Shrinking’
On Shrinking, Harrison Ford is doing sitcom banter for the first time in his career — and keeping up with actors like Jason Segel and Christa Miller, who’ve been doing sitcoms for decades. Shrinking is a refreshing turn for Ford. In the past 10 years, Ford has reprised his roles as Han Solo, Rick Deckard, and Indiana Jones. Regardless of how you feel about those specific performances or the movies they’re in, the pattern is a lack of new, original material to really flex his muscles. This changed when he started doing TV. Shrinking was his first original work — as in, not a sequel, spin-off, or adaptation — since 2015’s The Age of Adaline. Ford’s recent career highlights television’s willingness to create original roles for older actors, who can get stuck in legacy roles in their film careers.
But, it’s not only that Ford’s role on Shrinking is non-IP. It’s also just a great role for him. Paul fits the archetypal sarcastic authority figure that series creator Bill Lawrence loves. He’s definitely similar to John C. McGinley‘s Dr. Cox on Scrubs. But, Shrinking is a more thoughtful show than Scrubs and, as a result, Paul has more depth and pathos, while still giving Ford a chance to flex his comedic chops. His romantic storyline with Dr. Julie Baram, played by Wendie Malick, is a highlight of the show. The two have electric chemistry. Ford expressed to Variety how fulfilling his role on Shrinking is to him. He said, “I had never done anything like this before and it was like suddenly recognizing what I’ve always wanted [acting] to be.”
Patti LuPone Is a Power House on ‘Agatha All Along’
Broadway legend Patti LuPone is one of the best examples of an older actor recently becoming a heavy hitter on television. LuPone previously had memorable guest roles on shows from Frasier to 30 Rock and a major role on the cult show Penny Dreadful, but she’s become a true TV star in the last few years thanks to American Horror Story and her best role yet, Agatha All Along. Agatha All Along is her biggest star turn in television, both in terms of how much buzz the show has gotten and the strength of her material.
The episode “Death’s Hand in Mine” was one of the best of the series because of how well it utilized the 75-year-old actress. LuPone was intensely compelling as she played out her character Lilia’s exhaustion and fear, as well as her newfound confidence and strength in the episode’s climax. LuPone’s role received praise across social media from Marvel fans, some of whom were younger audiences discovering the actress for the first time thanks to the show. Although fans loved the emotional punch in “Death’s Hand in Mine,” LuPone herself appreciated her role in Agatha All Along because of the comedic moments. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she said, “The thing that is a well-kept secret is that I’m a comedian. I say this with tongue in cheek, but Evita ruined my career. I came out of Evita as this tycoon, bitch tap dancer, but my first Tony nomination was a slapstick comedy, Rosalind in As You Like It.” Of course, she’s exaggerating in the quote and has had a diverse career, but this speaks to what a refuge television has become for older actors who’ve felt typecast in their careers. While LuPone is a stage legend who certainly has nothing to prove, it’s exciting to watch her have such a moment and continue to get discovered by new fans.
Current Industry Trends in Television Benefit Older Actors
As an illustration of how different the television landscape used to be: when Frasier started, John Mahoney, who played Frasier’s dad, was only 53. He was just 15 years older than co-star Kelsey Grammar. Similarly, on The Golden Girls, Blanche’s 80-year-old mother, Sophia, was played by 62-year-old Estelle Getty, who was only 11 years older than her on-screen daughter Rue McClanahan. But now, much older actors are not only playing sitcom parent roles like the ones on Frasier and The Golden Girls, but they’re leading shows and playing complex characters.
This is partially because how TV is produced has changed so much. Making a television show shot in front of a live audience is physically demanding work. This is probably part of why Young Sheldon was able to have 72-year-old Annie Potts as a series regular, while The Big Bang Theory, which was filmed in front of a live audience, had no older actors in major roles. Working on a show with shorter seasons, which has become extremely prevalent in the streaming landscape, is also less demanding than working on a show with 22-episode seasons. Filming a season of a modern sitcom like Shrinking is more comparable to filming a movie.
Another big way the industry has changed is that platforms don’t want to take a risk on a project without a huge star. Older actors are more likely to have the name recognition executives are looking for. Something like Tulsa King may have never been made without a bankable star like Sylvester Stallone at its center. While this is a problem for emerging talent, one positive is that there are so many complex older characters on TV.
In Movies, Older Actors Are Stuck in Their Franchise Roles
Of course, movies still have some great roles for older actors. This year, the indie comedy Thelma gave 94-year-old June Squibb her first lead role. Anthony Hopkins recently won an Oscar for The Father. But, these are smaller movies that audiences have to seek out. Among the most popular movies, it’s more common to only see an older actor if they’re reprising a role, like Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice or Harrison Ford in numerous films. In popular movies, older actors are prevalent because of franchises and non-stop sequels. By contrast, the most popular shows on TV right now are full of older actors in original roles. Even in the case of a reboot like Matlock or a franchise IP show like Agatha All Along, the show is still providing an actor with a role that’s refreshing and new for them, not asking someone to reprise their old shtick.
Pick a few random popular shows to watch, and you’ll likely see a star over 70, and, miraculously, many of them are currently playing one of the best roles of their career. Television is a medium older actors are turning to more and more for complex and original roles. It’s refreshing that there’s nothing stereotypical about these older characters; instead, they present seniors living full, complicated lives and navigating interesting relationships with other seniors.
Matlock is available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
Matlock
- Release Date
- September 22, 2024
- Cast
- Kathy Bates , Jason Ritter , Skye P. Marshall , David Del Rio , Leah Lewis , Aaron Harris , Eme Ikwuakor , Beau Bridges , Sam Anderson , Jordyn Weitz , Henry Allen , Colleen Camp
- Seasons
- 1
- Writers
- Jennie Snyder Urman
- Network
- CBS
Watch on Paramount+
