The verdict is in… and it’s bad news for Perry Mason fans. HBO has cancelled the courtroom drama starring Matthew Rhys after two seasons, according to our sister site Deadline.
“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 starred Rhys as the titular lawyer, who started out as a private detective in 1930s Los Angeles. (The series served as a prequel to the classic Perry Mason TV series starring Raymond Burr and was based on the original Erle Stanley Gardner novels.) The supporting cast included Juliet Rylance as Perry’s law partner Della Street, Chris Chalk as investigator Paul Drake and Justin Kirk as Perry’s legal adversary Hamilton Burger. The Season 1 cast also included Tatiana Maslany and John Lithgow.
The series debuted in June 2020, with the freshman season earning four Emmy nominations, including one for Rhys for best lead actor in a drama. Season 2 premiered this March, with the April 24 season finale — read our post mortem here — now serving as a series finale. Following the finale, co-showrunner Michael Begler told TVLine: “Look, I’ve been thinking about a Season 3 since they called wrap. Even before that. I would love the opportunity. I think that there’s so much story to tell with these characters. I think we just started to tell the story with these characters.”
TVLine’s Cable Scorecard has been updated to reflect the news. Were you hoping to see Perry Mason tackle more cases? Hit the comments to share your thoughts on the cancellation.