‘Matlock’ and All the Other TV Shows Coming to Paramount+ This Week

There’s a tight little mix of dramas and procedurals landing this week, spanning a brand-new limited series, a long-running daytime institution, and two recent network hits with fresh momentum. Below you’ll find quick primers on each title—who’s involved, what it’s about, and the key creative hands behind the scenes—so you can jump in already knowing the essentials.

Dates below reflect this week’s arrivals only. To keep things clean and useful, each entry focuses on story setup, principal cast, and the creative leads like creators, showrunners, directors, and producers—so you get the big picture without wading through release logistics.

‘Red Alert’ (2025)

Arriving Tuesday, October 7, ‘Red Alert’ is a four-part Israeli limited series dramatizing the civilian experiences of October 7 through interwoven, ground-level stories of survival and courage. Created and directed by Lior Chefetz with co-creator Ruth Efroni, the series is produced by Keshet Media Group with producer Lawrence Bender. The ensemble includes Rotem Sela, Israel Atias, Miki Leon, Hisham Sulliman, and Chen Amsalem, with the narrative structured as a tense, near-real-time chronicle of the day’s events and their aftermath.

Behind the camera, Chefetz leads the directing duties across the run, shaping a docu-drama style that follows families, first responders, and bystanders as they navigate rapidly unfolding crises. The project was conceived to align character arcs with verifiable timelines from October 7, and its creative team emphasizes authenticity in locations, costuming, and dialogue choices to reflect a mosaic of perspectives surrounding the attacks. The international rollout coincides with Tuesday, October 7; the miniseries plays as a closed narrative across four episodes.

‘The Young and the Restless’ (1973–present)

Landing Wednesday, October 8, ‘The Young and the Restless’ is the long-running daytime drama created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell and set in the fictional Genoa City. The ensemble has evolved over decades, with signature roles including Eric Braeden as Victor Newman, Melody Thomas Scott as Nikki Newman, Peter Bergman as Jack Abbott, Joshua Morrow as Nicholas Newman, and Sharon Case as Sharon. Head writer and executive producer Josh Griffith steers current storylines, while directing across episodes has included veterans such as Sally McDonald and Owen Renfroe.

The series began as a half-hour serial in the 1970s before expanding to an hour, and it continues to balance business intrigue, family power struggles, and shifting alliances among the Abbotts, Newmans, and other legacy families. Production is based at Television City Studios, with multi-camera staging supporting its daily cadence, and its iconic opening theme—‘Nadia’s Theme’ by Barry De Vorzon and Perry Botkin Jr.—remains a hallmark. New episodes this week start Wednesday, October 8.

‘Matlock’ (2024–present)

Dropping Sunday, October 12, ‘Matlock’ is a reimagining of the classic legal franchise, created and developed by Jennie Snyder Urman. Kathy Bates stars as Madeline “Matty” Matlock, a seasoned attorney who joins a high-profile New York firm and uses understated tactics and meticulous case work to expose corruption. The core cast features Skye P. Marshall, Jason Ritter, David Del Rio, and Leah Lewis across the firm’s hierarchy and cases-of-the-week framework. Executive producers include Urman, Joanna Klein, Eric Christian Olsen, and Bates.

The pilot was directed by Kat Coiro, with production by Sutton Street, Cloud Nine, and CBS Studios. Season updates have highlighted continuing story arcs for the firm’s lawyers and clients; recent synopses tease paternity questions, arson investigations, and corporate malfeasance intersecting with personal stakes for the legal team. New episodes for this month begin Sunday, October 12, with the show continuing its serialized character beats layered over case-driven narratives.

‘Elsbeth’ (2024–present)

Also arriving Sunday, October 12, ‘Elsbeth’ is the New York–set spin-off from ‘The Good Wife’ and ‘The Good Fight,’ created by Robert and Michelle King. Carrie Preston reprises her Emmy-winning role as Elsbeth Tascioni, an unorthodox attorney who consults with the NYPD using an outsider’s eye for inconsistencies. The main cast includes Wendell Pierce as Captain C. W. Wagner and Carra Patterson as Detective Kaya Blanke, with Jonathan Tolins serving as showrunner and executive producer alongside the Kings and Liz Glotzer.

Structured as a stylish, character-forward procedural, each episode zeroes in on affluent or high-profile suspects while Elsbeth’s annotated observations unlock the case mechanics. Behind the scenes, the series is produced by Nemorino Productions, King Size Productions, and CBS Studios, with episodes running approximately 43 minutes. Casting updates this year confirmed that Patterson’s Kaya transitions from series regular to recurring while remaining part of the universe. New episodes for the month begin Sunday, October 12.

Share which of these you’ll be watching first—and why—in the comments!