Bates added another trophy to her collection, winning Best Actress in a Drama Series for her work on the CBS legal drama.

Bates used her time on stage to thank the L.A. firefighters for their bravery and dedicated her award to 'Matlock' producer Eric Christian Olsen, who lost his home in the Palisades fire

Fresh off her win for best actress in a drama series at the Critics Choice Awards, Kathy Bates said she had to "dig deep" to develop the guilt needed for her starring role in CBS' "Matlock." "I had to dig really deep for this character to understand [her] -- I'm not a mom,

Kathy Bates is giving her Critics Choice Award for 'Matlock' to series executive producer Eric Christian Olsen who lost his house in the LA fires.

Kathy Bates had an unbelievable night at the 2025 Critics Choice Awards—literally! The actress, 76, took home the award for best actress in a drama series for her performance in Matlock at the awards show, held Friday, Feb. 7, at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. And her reaction was priceless.

“It’s a big deal for me,” she told reporters backstage after her win for the CBS series Matlock. “When we did our pilot, I got an email from Amy Reisenbach, who is the head of the network, and I looked up her up because I didn’t really know who she was, and I saw a picture of her…next to a headline that said, ‘Broadcast TV Is Not Dead.’ “

People are loving the reaction Kathy Bates had when she won a Critics Choice Award for her part in Matlock. She was up for the Best Actress in a Drama Series gong and seemed to be quite surprised when it was announced she was meant to go up on stage and collect the award.

Kathy Bates' Madeline Matlock took on a big task trying to take down an elite law firm, but will she still be the same woman by the end?