HBO’s set to premiere Perry Mason starring Emmy Award winner Matthew Rhys (The Americans) on June 21, 2020. In support of its upcoming debut, the network’s just released details on the first four episodes including plot descriptions, cast lists, and air dates.
In addition to Matthew Rhys as the titular character, the cast of season one includes John Lithgow as Elias Birchard “E.B.” Jonathan, Juliet Rylance as Della Street, Tatiana Maslany as Sister Alice McKeegan, Chris Chalk as Paul Drake, and Shea Whigham as Pete Strickland. Stephen Root, Gayle Rankin, Nate Corddry, Veronica Falcón, Jefferson Mays, Lili Taylor, Andrew Howard, Eric Lange, and Robert Patrick also star in season one.
Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald created the series based on characters created by author Erle Stanley Gardner. Amanda Burrell, Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, Ron Fitzgerald, Joe Horacek, Rolin Jones, and director Timothy Van Patten executive produce. Series star Matthew Rhys and Aida Rodgers serve as producers.
The Plot:
1931, Los Angeles. 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.
Perry Mason Episodes 1-4 Preview:
- Episode 1: “Chapter One”
Debut date: SUNDAY, JUNE 21 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT)
Los Angeles, 1931. On the heels of an unsavory investigation involving a famous comedian, Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys) – a PI struggling to make ends meet – and his right-hand man Pete Strickland (Shea Whigham) are hired by attorney E.B. Jonathan (John Lithgow), Perry’s mentor, to solve a perplexing case: the brutal kidnapping of one-year-old Charlie Dodson, whose parents Matthew (Nate Corddry) and Emily (Gayle Rankin) were targeted for a $100,000 ransom. After meeting with Herman Baggerly (Robert Patrick), a millionaire elder at the Dodsons’ church, Perry, E.B., and E.B.’s legal secretary Della Street (Juliet Rylance) ponder why a family of unmistakably modest means would be extorted for such a steep price.
Written by Rolin Jones & Ron Fitzgerald; directed by Tim Van Patten. - Episode 2: “Chapter Two”
Debut date: SUNDAY, JUNE 28 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT)
Following one of her trademark barn-burning sermons, Evangelical preacher Sister Alice (Tatiana Maslany) offers the Dodsons the church’s full moral and financial support – much to her mother Birdy’s (Lili Taylor) dismay. During a routine domestic intervention, beat cop Paul Drake (Chris Chalk) is rerouted to a gruesome crime scene, where he follows a confounding trail of evidence. Mason (Matthew Rhys) is left incensed by a jaw-dropping admission from Baggerly (Robert Patrick) and, after pressing Emily (Gayle Rankin) on her husband’s alibi, finds himself confronted by an outraged Della (Juliet Rylance). Detectives Holcomb (Eric Lange) and Ennis (Andrew Howard) use Drake’s (Chris Chalk) findings to their own advantage.
Written by Rolin Jones & Ron Fitzgerald; directed by Tim Van Patten. - Episode 3: “Chapter Three”
Debut date: SUNDAY, JULY 5 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT)
In order to gain an advantage over E.B. and team, wily district attorney Maynard Barnes (Stephen Root) goes public with a shocking new development. Mason (Matthew Rhys) and Strickland (Shea Whigham) get unauthorized access to physical evidence with help from Virgil (Jefferson Mays), Mason’s connect at the city morgue. Later, Mason attempts to extract information from a withholding Drake (Chris Chalk), who’s weary of Holcomb (Eric Lange) and Ennis’ (Andrew Howard) watchful eyes. Della (Juliet Rylance) notices a change in E.B. (John Lithgow), who seems uncharacteristically out of sorts.
Written by Rolin Jones & Ron Fitzgerald; directed by Tim Van Patten. - Episode 4: “Chapter Four”
Debut date: SUNDAY, JULY 12 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT)
Mason (Matthew Rhys) and Strickland (Shea Whigham) lean on Virgil (Jefferson Mays), again, for extra-legal assistance. Following Sister Alice’s (Tatiana Maslany) recovery from a frightening episode, Birdy (Lili Taylor) urges her daughter to renounce her claims about baby Charlie. E.B. (John Lithgow) faces the reality of his financial situation and takes his frustrations out on Della (Juliet Rylance).
Written by Steven Hanna & Sarah Kelly Kaplan; directed by Deniz Gamze Ergüven.
