Perry Mason (miniseries)

• Matthew Rhys as Perry Mason, a private investigator
• Juliet Rylance as Della Street, the loyal and driven legal secretary of E.B. Jonathan
• Chris Chalk as Paul Drake, a beat cop
• Shea Whigham as Pete Strickland, Mason's work partner
• Tatiana Maslany as Sister Alice McKeegan, a preacher and leader of the Radiant Assembly of God
• John Lithgow as Elias Birchard "E.B." Jonathan, a struggling attorney and regular employer of Perry Mason

• Nate Corddry as Matthew Dodson, a grocery store owner whose 1-year-old son, Charlie, is kidnapped
• Veronica Falcón as Lupe Gibbs, a pilot who is in a sexual relationship with Mason
• Jefferson Mays as Virgil Sheets, an attendant at the city morgue and a friend of Mason's
• Madeline Zima as Velma Fuller, a young up-and-coming actress
• Gayle Rankin as Emily Dodson, the mother of Charlie Dodson, a 1-year-old child who is mysteriously kidnapped
• Lili Taylor as Birdy McKeegan, Alice's mother and advisor
• Andrew Howard as Detective Ennis, a LAPD detective
• Eric Lange as Detective Holcomb, a LAPD detective
• Robert Patrick as Herman Baggerly, a powerful man who hires E.B. and Mason to investigate the kidnapping
• Stephen Root as Maynard Barnes, the district attorney for Los Angeles
• Justin Kirk

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.[8] 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.[9]

On January 14, 2019, it was announced that HBO had given the production a series order. 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.[3] In March, Tim Van Patten was announced as director and executive producer.[10]

Alongside the initial development announcement, it was confirmed 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.[11] On January 14, 2019, it was announced that Matthew Rhys had been cast to replace Downey.[3] Tatiana Maslany joined in April.[12] John Lithgow was added to the cast in May.[13] In June, Chris Chalk and Shea Whigham were cast in lead roles, with Nate Corddry, Veronica Falcon, Jefferson Mays, Gayle Rankin and Lili Taylor set in recurring roles.[14] Juliet Rylance, Andrew Howard, Eric Lange, Robert Patrick and Stephen Root joined in July.[15] Justin Kirk would be added in October.[16]

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 80% based on 69 reviews, with an average rating of 7.28/10. 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."[17] On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18]

Ben Travers of IndieWire said the series 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."[19]