Everyone wants to know if, and when, Melanie Lynskey will make a cameo on husband Jason Ritter‘s hit series Matlock — and now he has an update.
During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly at PaleyFest, Ritter, 45, called the chances “pretty good” that Lynskey, 47, gets cast in a guest role, saying, “I don’t want to say 100 percent, but I think so. The word has been put out and all of the higher-ups know.”
Ritter noted that Lynskey is “so into” making an appearance on the hit CBS series. “I would be so excited,” he added. “Hopefully we get some scenes together — but that’s not up to me.”
Showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman had a similar response. “It is kind of early. We’ve definitely gotten some people that are fans of the show,” she told Us about potential season 2 guest stars. “I want Jason’s [Ritter] wife, Melanie, to come on after she said she was a fan. That would be the best.”
Lynskey has previously shared her love for Matlock, writing via X in October 2024, “Jason is amazing on it, and Kathy Bates continues to be the pinnacle of greatness and everything I hope to be as an actor. Skye P. Marshall is a superstar. I would watch this even if it wasn’t my marital obligation.”
Skye P. Marshall as Olympia Lawrence, Jason Ritter as Julian Markston, and Kathy Bates as Madeline Matlock in ‘Matlock.’ Sonja Flemming/CBS
Matlock, which premiered in September 2024, follows a wealthy retired lawyer named Madeline Kingston (Kathy Bates) who pretends to be a poor widower named Matty Matlock to get a job at a firm. As it turns out, Matty thinks someone at the company is complicit in the opioid epidemic that resulted in her daughter’s death.
Ritter plays Julian, who is a senior partner at Jacobson & Moore. He is married to Marshall’s character, Olympia, who filed for divorce from Julian prior to the events in the pilot.
It’s not every day that one gets to work alongside their significant other, but several celebrity couples have been lucky enough to do just that over the years — even after tying the knot! John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, for example, have appeared in a few of the same projects. The first time they worked […]
Before joining the cast of Matlock, Ritter shared the screen with Lynskey on multiple occasions. The couple met while filming The Big Ask in 2013 and later collaborated on projects such as We’ll Never Have Paris and The Intervention. Ritter also scored cameo roles in Lynskey’s shows, including Candy, The Last of Us and Yellowjackets.
“We’ve worked together a few times and it’s always been really fun, but I mean, I’ll do anything with him. He’s so talented,” Lynskey exclusively told Us in April 2023. “I love his face. I love looking at his face.”
Jason Ritter as Julian Markston in ‘Matlock.’ Brooke Palmer/CBS
Ritter’s appearance on Yellowjackets has remained a mystery after it didn’t air during season 2. After the series was renewed for a third season, it was reported that Ritter would still join Yellowjackets in the future.
“It was great. But I came back to work and everybody was like, ‘Your husband’s the nicest person in the world. He’s our favorite,’” Lynskey, who welcomed a daughter with Ritter in 2018, recalled to Us. “And I think, previously, I felt like I was some people’s favorite.”
Lynskey added: “Everyone was like, ‘We still love you.’ And I was like, ‘I know he’s nicer. He’s nicer than me. He’s easier to be around. He never complains.’ So he became the new favorite. It was hard for me to give up the title, but I was also happy.”
Ritter reacted to the praise, telling Us, “She doesn’t tell me these things! That’s so nice. I love that entire cast so much. Getting to meet them all in the first season, when they were just shooting, was so exciting. It’s very exciting to see them all get the recognition they deserve.”
New episodes of Matlock air on CBS Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Shar Jossell
