‘Perry Mason’ Canceled After Two Seasons on HBO

Rick Porter
·1 min read
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HBO has returned an unfavorable verdict on Perry Mason.

The drama starring Matthew Rhys as the title character has been canceled after two seasons. The series, a reworking of the classic courtroom show of the 1950s and ’60s, is produced by Robert Downey Jr.’s Team Downey.

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“We are tremendously grateful for the remarkable work of Matthew Rhys and the unrivaled cast and crew of Perry Mason for their reimagining of such a treasured and storied franchise,” HBO said in a statement. “While we won’t be moving forward with another season of the series, we are excited to continue working with the brilliant creatives at Team Downey on future projects.”

Perry Mason premiered in June 2020 to solid audience numbers, and Rhys would earn an Emmy nomination for his lead role. HBO renewed the series midway through its first season.

Jack Amiel and Michael Begler (The Knick) served as showrunners on season two, taking over for creators Ron Fitzgerald and Rolin Jones, who moved on to other projects. The second season debuted in March, some two and a half years after season one concluded, and linear ratings (which, to be fair, represent only a fraction of an HBO show’s total audience) fell by more than 50 percent.

Perry Mason is set in 1930s Los Angeles and follows Perry as he moves from being a private investigator to the lawyer made famous in Erle Stanley Gardner’s books and the original TV series that starred Raymond Burr. The cast also includes Juliet Rylance, Chris Chalk, Shea Whigham, Eric Lange, Diarra Kilpatrick and Justin Kirk.

The series will continue to be available on HBO’s sibling streaming platform, Max.

Deadline first reported the cancellation.

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