Perry Mason HBO Series

Perry Mason is an American television series that serves as an origin story for the titular character from the original series, Perry Mason. The show premiered on HBO on June 21, 2020.

The show is created by Ron Fitzgerald and Rolin Jones, with Amanda Burrell, Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, Matthew Rhys, Tim Van Patten and Joe Horacek serving as executive producers.

About[]

Set in 1932 Los Angeles, the series focuses on the origin story of famed defense lawyer Perry Mason, based on characters from Erle Stanley Gardner's novels. Living check-to-check as a low-rent private investigator, Mason is haunted by his wartime experiences in France and suffering the effects of a broken marriage.

L.A. is booming while the rest of the country recovers from the Great Depression — but a kidnapping gone very wrong leads to Mason exposing a fractured city as he uncovers the truth of the crime.^[1]

Cast[]

Main[]

Matthew Rhys as Perry Mason
Tatiana Maslany as Sister Alice - An evangelical preacher for the Radiant Assembly of God
John Lithgow as Elias "E.B." Birchard Jonathan - A prominent L.A. attorney who is a mentor and father figure to Mason
Chris Chalk as Paul Drake - A black street cop for L.A. Police Dept, Newton Division
Shea Whigham as Pete Strickland - A streetwise private investigator who works with Mason
Juliet Rylance as Della Street - E.B.s assistant and legal secretary

Production[]

Ron Fitzgerald and Rolin Jones serve as show runners while Tim Van Patten directs and executive produces the show. Robert Downey Jr. served as an executive producer alongside Amanda Burrell, Susan Downey and Joe Horacek.

Development[]

On August 15, 2016, it was reported that HBO was developing a drama series based on the Perry Mason stories written by Erle Stanley Gardner. The production was expected to be written by Nic Pizzolatto, who was also set to executive produce alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Joe Horacek. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Team Downey. On August 25, 2017, it was announced that Pizzolatto had dropped out of the production in order to focus on the third season of True Detective and that he was being replaced as the project's writer by Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald. The HBO revival and reboot adapted its setting to Great Depression-era Los Angeles, some twenty years earlier than the CBS show (but in line with the earliest novels by Gardner).

On January 14, 2019, it was announced that HBO had given the production an order as a limited series. It was further announced that Jones, Fitzgerald, Susan Downey, and Amanda Burrell would serve as additional executive producers, that Matthew Rhys would serve as a producer, and that the production was in the process of hiring a director. Jones and Fitzgerald serve as showrunners for the series as well. In March, Tim Van Patten was announced as director and executive producer. On July 22, 2020, it was revealed HBO had decided to turn Perry Mason into a regular series, renewing it for a second season. On April 23, 2021, it was announced Jones and Fitzgerald left the series and were replaced as showrunners by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler.

Seasons[]

Season One[]

Set in 1932 Los Angeles, the series focuses on the origin story of famed defense lawyer Perry Mason, based on characters from Erle Stanley Gardner’s novels. Living check-to-check as a low-rent private investigator, Mason is haunted by his wartime experiences in France and suffering the effects of a broken marriage. L.A. is booming while the rest of the country recovers from the Great Depression — but a kidnapping gone very wrong leads to Mason exposing a fractured city as he uncovers the truth of the crime.

Season Two[]

Months after the end of the Dodson trial, Perry’s moved off the farm, ditched the milk truck, he’s even traded his leather jacket for a pressed suit. It’s the worst year of the Depression, and Perry and Della have set the firm on a safer path pursuing civil cases instead of the tumultuous work that criminal cases entail. Unfortunately, there isn’t much work for Paul in wills and contracts, so he’s been out on his own. An open-and-closed case overtakes the city of Los Angeles, and Perry’s pursuit of justice reveals that not everything is always as it seems.