In Trailer for Perry Mason HBO, Matthew Rhys, & Others Get Gritty

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

In a gripping trailer for PERRY MASON HBO unveils Matthew Rhys (The Americans) and Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) at the heart of a story revolving around crime, justice, and a battle for the very soul of Stanley Gardner’s pulp fiction lawyer, Perry Mason.

The project hails from Robert Downey Jr. and his wife and producing partner Susan Downey. For a time, Downey was expected to portray Mason as a way exiting Marvel's Cinematic Universe. However, after Downey was contracted for five more films after the success of IRON MAN 3, the Perry Mason project became something that needed to be repurposed. Eventually, the Downey's brought the concept to HBO, where the project then became a series platform for Rhys and Maslany.

Created by Rolin Jones (FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, UNITED STATES OF TARA, THE EXORCIST) and Ron Fitzgerald (WESTWORLD), and directed by GAME OF THRONES veteran Timothy Van Patten, the series looks about as gritty as the streets of Los Angeles, circa 1931.

Perry Mason, HBO, Tatiana Maslany, Matthew Rhys

What's in Store for Perry Mason, HBO, and this New Series?

Here's the official synopsis:

While the rest of the country struggles through the Great Depression, this city is booming! Oil! Olympic Games! Talking Pictures! Evangelical Fervor! And a child kidnapping gone very, very wrong. Based on characters created by author Erle Stanley Gardner, this drama series follows the origins of American fiction’s most legendary criminal defense lawyer, Perry Mason. 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.

Joining Rhys and Maslany for PERRY MASON are co-stars John LithgowShea Whigham, Stephen Root, Gayle Rankin, Juliet Rylance, Chris Chalk, Nate Corddry, Veronica Falcon, Jefferson Mays, Lili Taylor, Andrew Howard, Eric Lange, and Robert Patrick.

Straight up, this series had me at Maslany. In my humble opinion, the ORPHAN BLACK star is truly a force of nature, and I'm excited to see her go all out as a spirited preacher who hires Mason to investigate a murder most foul. If tangled webs of intrigue are your jam, you're definitely going to want to check PERRY MASON out when it debuts Sunday, June 21, at 9 p.m. EDT on HBO, HBO Go, HBO Now, and HBO Max.

Source: HBO

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He's also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You'll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.