HBO has renewed the drama series Perry Mason starring Matthew Rhys for a second season! The news was announced today by Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President of HBO Programming.
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“It has been an exciting journey to work with the immensely talented team behind Perry Mason,” said Orsi. “Viewers have relished being transported back in time to 1930’s Los Angeles each week, and we are thrilled to welcome the show back for a second season.”
Perry Mason debuted as HBO’s most-watched series premiere in nearly two years. The first episode has now been seen by 8-million viewers.
Based on Erle Stanley Gardner’s series of novels, the new Perry Mason is set in 1932 Los Angeles. While the rest of the country recovers from the Great Depression, this city is booming! Oil! Olympic Games! Talking Pictures! Evangelical Fervor! And a child kidnapping gone very, very wrong! This series follows the origins of American Fiction’s most legendary criminal defense lawyer, Perry Mason (Rhys). When the case of the decade breaks down his door, Mason’s relentless pursuit of the truth reveals a fractured city and just maybe, a pathway to redemption for himself.
Emmy winner Matthew Rhys (The Americans) plays the title character alongside Oscar nominee John Lithgow (Pet Sematary, Terms of Endearment, The Crown) and Emmy winner Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black). Chris Chalk (Gotham) and Shea Whigham (Homecoming) have signed on as series regulars while Nate Corddry (Mom), Veronica Falcon (Queen of the South), Jefferson Mays (I Am The Night), Gayle Rankin (GLOW) and Lili Taylor (Chambers) also star in recurring roles.
The series is directed and executive produced by Tim Van Patten, who is one of HBO‘s longtime collaborators. He has worked on many popular HBO series such as Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, Sex and the City, and Deadwood.
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The adaptation is created by showrunners Rolin Jones and Ron Fritzgerald. Robert Downey Jr. (Avengers: Endgame) and Susan Downey developed the project and both executive produce through their Team Downey banner. Jones and Fritzgerald are also executive producers along with Team Downey’s Amanda Burrell, and Joe Horaceck. Rhys also produces with Aida Rodgers serving as co-executive producer.
The adventures of Perry Mason have been adapted a number of times in various mediums, with the character having been the subject of radio plays, films, television movies, and perhaps most notably a television series for CBS called Perry Mason that ran from 1957 to 1966.
