Perry Mason

Premise

The series focuses on the origin story of famed defense lawyer Perry Mason. In 1932, Los Angeles is prospering while the rest of the U.S. is recovering from the grip of the Great Depression. Down-and-out private investigator Perry Mason is struggling with his trauma from The Great War and being divorced. He is hired for a sensational child kidnapping trial; his investigation results in major consequences for Mason, those around him, and local leaders.

Cast and characters

Main

Matthew Rhys as Perry Mason, a low-rent private investigator who later becomes a lawyer

Juliet Rylance as Della Street, the loyal and driven legal secretary of E.B. Jonathan

Chris Chalk as Paul Drake, a beat cop with a knack for detective work

Shea Whigham as Peter "Pete" Strickland (season 1; recurring season 2), Mason's work partner

Tatiana Maslany as Sister Alice McKeegan (season 1), a preacher and leader of the Radiant Assembly of God

John Lithgow as Elias Birchard "E.B." Jonathan (season 1), a struggling attorney and regular employer of Perry Mason

Justin Kirk as Hamilton Burger (season 2; recurring season 1), assistant district attorney offering Mason legal advice

Diarra Kilpatrick as Clara Drake (season 2; recurring season 1), Paul's wife

Eric Lange as Eugene "Gene" Holcomb (season 2; recurring season 1), an LAPD homicide detective

Katherine Waterston as Virginia "Ginny" Szymanski Aimes (season 2), an optimistic schoolteacher of Perry's son, Theodore ("Teddy")

Recurring

Verónica Falcón as Lupe Gibbs, an accomplished pilot and the owner of a speakeasy who has a sexual relationship with Mason

Molly Ephraim as Hazel Prystock, a hand model who is Della's fellow boarding house tenant and secret romantic partner

Gretchen Mol as Linda Mason, Perry's ex-wife

Gayle Rankin as Emily Dodson, the mother of Charlie Dodson, a one-year-old child who is mysteriously kidnapped and murdered

Nate Corddry as Matthew Dodson, a grocery store owner whose one-year-old son, Charlie, is kidnapped and murdered

Jefferson Mays as Virgil Sheets, an attendant at the city morgue and a friend of Mason's

Stephen Root as Maynard Barnes, the formidable district attorney of Los Angeles County

Andrew Howard as Joseph "Joe" Ennis, an LAPD homicide detective

Robert Patrick as Herman Baggerly, Matthew's father, a powerful industrialist in Southern California who hires E.B. and Mason to investigate the kidnapping

Lili Taylor as Birdy McKeegan, Alice's mother and advisor

Matt Frewer as Judge Frederick "Fred" Wright, the judge in the Charlie Dodson murder case

David Wilson Barnes as Elder Ethan Brown, a member of the Radiant Assembly of God

Taylor Nichols as Elder/Deacon Eric Q. Seidel, a member of the Radiant Assembly of God

Episodes

Production

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. On June 6, 2023, HBO canceled the series after two seasons.

Casting

Alongside the initial development announcement, it was said that Robert Downey Jr. would star as the titular Perry Mason. On July 25, 2018, it was reported that Downey had dropped out of the role due to his feature film schedule and that a search for his replacement was ongoing. On January 14, 2019, it was announced that Matthew Rhys had been cast to replace Downey. Tatiana Maslany joined in April. John Lithgow was added to the cast in May. In June, Chris Chalk and Shea Whigham were cast in lead roles, with Nate Corddry, Veronica Falcón, Jefferson Mays, Gayle Rankin and Lili Taylor set in recurring roles. Juliet Rylance, Andrew Howard, Eric Lange, Robert Patrick and Stephen Root joined in July. Justin Kirk would be added in October. In "Chapter Five", Lithgow's real-life son Ian appears as E.B. Jonathan's son Byron.

For the second season, Lange and Kirk were promoted to series regulars. Diarra Kilpatrick, who recurred in season 1 as Clara Drake, was upgraded to series regular in October 2021 in addition to Katherine Waterston joining as a new series regular, and Hope Davis among 5 cast in recurring roles. In January 2022, it was announced Whigham would be returning in a recurring capacity, while Sean Astin, Tommy Dewey, Paul Raci and Jen Tullock were cast in recurring roles.

Release

The series premiered on June 21, 2020, on HBO and HBO Max. The second season premiered on March 6, 2023.

Home media

The first season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 1, 2020.

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, season one holds an approval rating of 75% based on 84 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Brimming with top notch performances and dripping in style, Perry Mason's compelling mystery more than makes up for its somewhat messy story." On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Ben Travers of IndieWire said that season one is "built with confidence, patience, and a voice calibrated for today's audiences" and gave it a "B+", writing: "Perry Mason stands as an astounding visual feat for its specific framings as well as its overall world-building. There are striking images of a pitch-black profile and lavish outdoor shots of real Los Angeles locations. In some shows, intimate conversations between two people can clash with the grander scenes... Mason has the intuition (and the budget) to not just balance visual opulence with smaller, private moments, but to blend them."

Season two holds an approval rating of 84% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "More cohesive and engaging than its woolly first installment, Perry Mason's sophomore season is a marked improvement driven by an urgent sense of purpose, with Matthew Rhys commandingly watchable as ever." On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Ratings

With 1.7 million viewers across all platforms, the debut of Perry Mason was the strongest of any HBO series for two years.