General Hospital’s Vernée Watson is about to temporarily jump from ABC to CBS. In December, she is set to guest-star in the hit legal drama Matlock. She’ll play the mother of one of the Emmy-nominated show’s legal eagles.

Key Takeaways

• General Hospital star Vernée Watson (Stella Henry) guest-stars on Matlock as Celeste, the mother of legal powerhouse Olympia Lawrence.
• Celeste’s arrival brings emotional family turmoil and high-stakes courtroom drama.
• Watson adds another standout primetime role to her impressive career.

Family Drama

Watson, who plays Stella Henry on GH, heads over to Matlock, where she’ll guest star as Celeste, the mother of Skye P. Marshall’s Olympia Lawrence. Olympia is a fierce lawyer who has been struggling with chaos and disruption on every level of her life. And now she will need to focus her attention on the parent that the CBS drama is introducing here in season two.

Here’s the synopsis for the Thursday, December 4 episode titled “Prior Bad Acts”:

Olympia works to repair her relationship with her family after she takes on a case involving her mother’s new husband. Also, Matty and Olympia receive a shocking piece of information

Matlock Mayhem

So far this season, Olympia and Kathy Bates’ Matty have had a lot on their plates. They are doing their day jobs, representing and fighting for their clients. But they are also working to bring down whoever buried an incendiary drug study that could have toppled one of their firm’s largest pharmaceutical clients. As a result, Olympia is working especially hard to prevent her ex-husband, Julian (Jason Ritter), from being the one who is sacrificed.

Additionally, the women are attempting to repair the friendship that they developed during the first season. That is, until Olympia found out Matty’s true motives for infiltrating the law firm. Much of season two has featured them trying to outwit, outmaneuver, and outlast each other. But now they’re hoping their friendship will survive this drama and all the trauma it’s causing.

Watson Hearts Port Charles

Meanwhile, on GH, Watson’s Stella Henry no longer has to worry about her legal troubles. In an act of revenge, Congressman Cuthtroat, a.k.a. Drew Cain, attempted to set up Curtis’s Aunt Stella on insurance fraud charges. He has since arranged for the problem to go away. Additionally, Stella will surely have some thoughts about Curtis and Portia’s impending divorce.

As for the actress, she has a rich career starring in primetime, streaming projects, and movies. Most recently, she guest-starred as Jessica Williams’ mother on Apple TV’s Shrinking. She is also no stranger to CBS, having starred in the hit comedy Bob Hearts Abishola for five seasons (here’s where else to catch Watson outside daytime TV).

Who knows, this Matlock gig could be a guest star shot that turns into a recurring role. Catch Watson on Matlock, Thursday, Dec. 4 at 9/8c on CBS. The episode will then be available to stream on Paramount+.