Kathy Bates has scored a historic nomination at the upcoming 77th Emmy Awards, becoming the oldest nominee in the lead drama actress category for her role in CBS’s “Matlock” reboot.
Bates, who turned 77 on June 28, is up for “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series” along with Sharon Horgan for “Bad Sisters,” Britt Lower for “Severance,” Bella Ramsey for “The Last of Us,” and Keri Russell for “The Diplomat,” the Emmys announced on Tuesday.
The record was previously held by actress Angela Lansbury, who was 70 when she was nominated in the category for her role as amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher in the popular crime drama series “Murder, She Wrote.” She died in October 2022 at the age of 96.
After this year’s nominations were announced, the cast and crew of “Matlock” surprised Bates on set, congratulating the actress for her record-setting nomination. A video of the emotional exchange was subsequently shared on the show’s official Instagram account.
“We’re inspired every single day by your hard work and your grace and your humility and your talent and the way that you lead this set,” showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman, overcome with emotion, said in the clip. “You elevate every single one of us.”
“Y’all were more than enough all this time; I didn’t need anything else,” Bates said in turn.
“This has been an extraordinary experience for an old broad like me. I just love you from the bottom of my heart, and thank you for just being so great with me every day, so I can do what I love to do best.”
“Matlock” is a reboot of the Andy Griffith-led legal procedural drama of the same name, which aired from 1986 to 1995.
In the gender-flipped reimagining, Bates plays Madeline “Matty” Matlock, a wily attorney who begins working at a prestigious law office under false pretenses so she can avenge her daughter’s death.
The Oscar-winning actress, whose career in Hollywood has spanned six decades, is also known for her roles in “Misery” (1990), “Dolores Claiborne” (1995), “Titanic” (1997), and “About Schmidt” (2002).
Bates won her first Emmy Award in 2012 for her guest appearance in the comedy series “Two and a Half Men,” starring Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer.
Two years later, she took home the Emmy for “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie” for her role in “American Horror Story: Coven.”
Bates is now poised to win her third Emmy at the forthcoming awards ceremony, which will air live on CBS on Sept. 14.
