There is violence shown in every episode involving fist fights, gun violence or running over a pedestrian with a car, stabbing a person with a knife, or choking a person to death, or drowning a person in the hot tub, killing a person with a blunt object or food poisoning, or getting a person electrocuted in the bathtub in which Matlock has to solve the murder cases and figure out who is the murderer.

Almost every episode involves murder but with usually little to no gore.

Characters are seen smoking cigarettes, cigars, drinking beer, wine, champagne, taking drugs and gambling throughout the episodes.

Characters are shown in bars from time to time.

Some of the killings are somewhat intense.