<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Chronology </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Followed by </Th> <Td> Diagnosis: Murder </Td> </Tr> <P> Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of criminal - defense attorney Ben Matlock . The show, produced by Intermedia Entertainment Company (first season only), The Fred Silverman Company, Dean Hargrove Productions, and Viacom Productions, originally aired from March 3, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC; and from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC . </P> <P> The show's format is similar to that of CBS's Perry Mason (with both Matlock and the 1980s Perry Mason TV movies created by Dean Hargrove), with Matlock identifying the perpetrators and then confronting them in dramatic courtroom scenes . One difference, however, was that whereas Mason usually exculpated his clients at a pretrial hearing, Matlock usually secured an acquittal at trial, from the jury . </P>

Who played the role of ben matlock in the original tv series