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Decipher the mysterious new trailer for HBO’s Perry Mason reboot
It’s a gritty, Depression-era take on the classic character.
The newly released trailer for HBO’s Perry Mason reboot gives us a glimpse into the premium cable show, premiering June 21st.
The series, set in 1930s Los Angeles, follows the title character in his early days as a private investigator. The official synopsis, according to HBO, reads: “L.A. is booming while the rest of the country recovers from the Great Depression — but a kidnapping gone very wrong leads to Mason exposing a fractured city as he uncovers the truth of the crime.”
Matthew Rhys, previously scene on the FX Cold War drama The Americans, plays Mason alongside Juliet Rylance as Della Street. John Lithgow plays Mason’s mentor and Tatiana Maslany plays a preacher with millions of devoted radio listeners.
As Radiohead’s "Life in a Glasshouse" sets the tone, Mason narrates the trailer, saying, "I don’t like it here. Everybody’s up to something, hiding something. Everybody’s got an angle. And everybody is guilty."
The series clearly takes inspiration from the original 1930s Perry Mason novels by Erle Stanley Gardner as opposed to the classic Raymond Burr television show.
Decipher the mysterious trailer for yourself below.
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18 Comments
And that's Raymond Burr.
Gardner created Mason (who was originally called Ed Stark) at a time when he was transitioning from the pulp magazines to the "slicks", like the Saturday Evening Post; that market was looking for clever detectives who solved whodunits, and Mason was molded after that model.
There was no "origin story" - there didn't need to be.
Perry Mason was presented as a sharp trial lawyer from the word 'go' - and that was that.
When the Mason TV series was launched in the '50s, Erle Stanley Gardner' company owned the show, and Uncle Erle (as his close friends called him) rode herd over the whole show, starting with the scripts.
No angst here, just good solid storytelling.
Somehow, I don't think this group has the right notion …