Starting Sunday, actor Jason Ritter will return to the screen as attorney Julian Markston in the second season of the CBS legal drama “Matlock,” loosely inspired by the 1980s and 1990s Andy Griffith show of the same name. He still gets emotional when he thinks about the cast he works with, which includes Skye P. Marshall, Beau Bridges and Oscar winner Kathy Bates.
In Sunday Funday, the people of Los Angeles tell us step by step their ideal Sunday in the city. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
“Almost, but not ever, you forget that you're working with an absolute acting legend,” Ritter says. “Kathy is so sweet, so kind, and such a team player and collaborator that it helps keep that voice in your head from saying, 'It's Kathy Bates!' every time it is a scene with her.”
The 45-year-old Los Angeles native, part of an entertainment family that includes his late father, comedy legend John Ritter, didn't offer many details about the new season, but said viewers can expect more episodes that will keep them on the edge of their seats. (If you need a refresher on last season, “Matlock” episodes are available on Paramount+.)
“It has the same pacing and fun mystery as the first season, but now my character's secrets have been revealed,” says Ritter, who regularly posts about the show and his fellow actors on Instagram along with humorous bits.
At home with actress and wife Melanie Lynskey, whom he married in 2020, and their 6-year-old daughter, there are no big mysteries to solve, but there is work to do before bed.
“When midnight hits,” Ritter says, “we're probably finishing up the jobs, as we call them, you know, the dishes and the housework and cleaning everything up, which is a lovely habit I've picked up since [my wife]. I always used to wake up with the nightmare of the night before and I have learned to really appreciate waking up to a clean area.”
After turning out the lights and getting some sleep, your ideal Sunday begins hours later and is filled with lots of coffee, some mini golf or a nature walk, and more.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
7 am: a different calling time
I usually wake up at 7. If our daughter goes to school, then I have to wake up at 7 so I can start making her lunch and getting things ready. But if she's sleeping a little [on the weekend]so I still have to wake up at 7 to make sure everything is sold out. And then I will prepare lunch and breakfast for you. While eating breakfast, he usually watches an episode of something. That's my best time to browse social media.
9:30 am: Time for more coffee.
We would all get in the car and our first stop would probably be to have coffee. We are a big coffee family, not our daughter. We always make a cup of coffee in the morning. And although we have already had several cups, we will stop at Go find them tigerone of our favorite cafes in Los Angeles. We've gotten to know a lot of the baristas there, so we can chat about life and everything. And then we'll get back on the road.
10:00: mini golf or “beauty” walk
Our daughter and I are going to castle parkwhich is the mini golf place in Sherman Oaks. My daughter and I have bonded a lot over mini golf, and that's our thing. Any mini golf course has a really special place in my heart, but Castle Park is the place I went to as a kid. The course is basically the same. It's so fun to watch [our daughter] get better and better at golf; although lately he has become obsessed with the pair.
If miniature golf didn't take up so much of our time, my daughter and I like to do these little beauty rides where she gets on her scooter and puts on her helmet. We just walk around the neighborhood and she can't pick flowers. But we can pick small flowers or leaves from the ground. So whatever she sees that is beautiful, she picks it up and we make a little bouquet. And what's most surprising to me is seeing what she finds beautiful on those walks.
13:00: A chopped salad and fries for lunch
There is a place called Osteria Angelini which has a salad that I really enjoy. It's called Alimentari Chopped Salad. It has avocado, chicken, bacon, currants and almonds. It comes with two dressings, but I usually just make the oily lemon type dressing. And it's so delicious. I am the only carnivore in my family. At some point, maybe my conscience will take over and I will switch to their diet. Angelini also has very good fries. When we are traveling and the lunch I have prepared has not been enough for [my daughter]French fries are one of those sure things that, if we're in a pinch, we can pick them up almost anywhere.
2:00 p.m.: Jurassic Technology Museum Time
Another favorite thing I would do is go to the Museum of Jurassic Technology. I love that place. It's so fascinating. It's one of those places that if someone comes from out of town, I love to show them. I love taking them there without telling them anything about it and just watching them explore. And it is such a mysterious and magical place.
5 pm: Cool escape room fun
Then I'd see if I could get a group of friends together and we'd go do an escape room somewhere in the city. It's simply one of my favorite things to do and they are everywhere in Los Angeles. I would go to maybe 60out either Labyrinth Rooms or one I had never heard of. There is an app called Morty that helps you find escape rooms and keep track of which ones you did if you have a bad memory like me. If I can't convince my friends to do another one right after in the same place, then we'll be done by 6. It would be time to come home and make our daughter's dinner and get her through the whole dinner-bath-time-bedtime phase.
9 p.m.: Dinner and “The Bachelor” before bed
My favorite thing is when Melanie and I order from a place called Bulan Thai Vegetarian Cuisine. It has these incredibly delicious hot wings. Our daughter will sleep in the other room. And we can eat delicious Thai food and watch some silly or serious show.
If our daughter has gone to sleep around 8, it will usually be 9 or 9:30 depending on whether I fell asleep in the bed next to me. This is also the reason why it sometimes gets so late and lasts until the next day. Because by the time we get to having fun alone, eating dinner and watching, it's 9:30, 10, and some of those “Bachelor” episodes are two hours long.
And yes, I promise you that at some point this day I have taken a shower. [Laughs] That is another very important element of our days. He is the one who can stay on the road. But we always try to communicate with each other. Like, “Have you showered today? Have you showered? Okay, you go and then I'll come.”
