LOS ANGELES — At 77, Kathy Bates is now the oldest Emmy nominee for lead actress in a drama series.

Bates stars as septuagenarian lawyer Madeline Matlock in the CBS series "Matlock," which concluded its first season in April. Created by Jennie Snyder Urman (best known for "Jane the Virgin"), the show is a reboot of the classic Andy Griffith-led series of the same name, which ran from 1986 to 1995. Bates' Matlock is a bit older and just as brilliant.

"I know that there was some talk of possibly creating this character as a granddaughter of [the original] Matlock — someone in her 30s or 40s — so I'm incredibly fortunate that, at 76, for heaven's sake, I've been able to play this role," Bates told The Times last year.

Bates, who celebrated a birthday last month, on Tuesday became the oldest nominee in the category's history. The record was previously held by the late Angela Lansbury, who was 70 when she was nominated for "Murder, She Wrote" in 1996. Lansbury never won an Emmy despite 18 nominations.

Bates' nomination doesn't come as a surprise. She was up for the same category at this year's Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards. She took home the trophy at the Critics Choice Awards in February.

Bates has now been nominated for 15 Emmy Awards, two of which she's won: guest actress in a comedy series for "Two and a Half Men" (2012) and supporting actress in a limited series for "American Horror Story: Coven" (2014). In 1991, she won the lead actress Oscar for her chilling role in the horror movie "Misery," based on the Stephen King novel of the same name.

"Matlock" has been renewed for a sophomore season and is expected to return in the fall.

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