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.

Watch Perry Mason on MeTV!

Weekdays at 9 AM
Weeknights at 11:30 PM

*available in most MeTV markets
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18 Comments

rodee 46 months ago
For me, there is only 1 Perry Mason.

And that's Raymond Burr.
jimmyvici 54 months ago
I hope at least they use something of Raymond Burr’s character, like his trademark black suit and tie, or his hairstyle. Maybe even his pinky ring. That would be a nice homage to Burr.
Hilary 54 months ago
Perry Mason was a lawyer with an investigative mind and ability .ESG his creator molded him after himself. He had strong control over the series and how his character was portrayed- I am sure he would not approve of this adaption- I don’t.
peterm 54 months ago
at least this show only his job was changed not his ethnicity or gender and put on the WB
peacefrog77 54 months ago
10 will get you 20 they turn Perry into a SJW.
Charlette 54 months ago
I Loved Perry Mason as a kid. I still watch him twice a day now. I hope u don't mess it up. I've watch the first episode and the last. Paul Drake was the Private Eye not Perry. So don't mess this up. I'll be watching.
MrsPhilHarris 54 months ago
Sounds more like a private eye than a lawyer. Trying to look like film noir I think.
TheDavBow3 54 months ago
I didn't really watch Perry Mason reruns as a kid (I thought the theme song was scary). But I would watch this new one or give it a try. I like nostalgic stuff. But I don't have HBO 😏
WordsmithWorks 54 months ago
Please stop with the reboots.
peacefrog77 WordsmithWorks 54 months ago
Remakes, I always hated the reboot terminology.
WordsmithWorks peacefrog77 54 months ago
I suppose a "reboot" means that you are starting over with the same material, like rebooting your computer. "Remake" could leave the door open to another interpretation.
peacefrog77 WordsmithWorks 54 months ago
Reboot was a buzzword used because some millennial focus group preferred it to remake.
Jeffrey 54 months ago
I don't like it, The trailer that is. I wouldn't watch it. Good thing I don't have cable, or HBO. And I am not a millennial, but a baby boomer, born 1954.
bsantaniello Jeffrey 52 months ago
Saw part of it Didn’t like it. Nothing like Raymond Burr’s version. Should have left well enough alone.
cperrynaples 54 months ago
Nothing wrong here! First of all, it's true to Gardner's original concept! Secondly, I don't think millenials would warm up to a traditional legal series! Consider what CW did with Archie and Nancy Drew!
Mike cperrynaples 54 months ago
First off, Gardner's "original concept" was an up-and-coming trial lawyer, with a talent for unorthodox tactics - much as Erle Stanley Gardner was in his early days as an attorney in Los Angeles.
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 …
cperrynaples Mike 54 months ago
Well, it is a fact that CBS wanted to do PM as a soap opera like it was on radio, but Gardner said no! As a result, radio Perry Mason became daytime Mike Karr, as MeTV noted in the Forrest Compton tribute!
DonoraButler Mike 51 months ago
Actually, Perry is a combination of Bertha and Ed. Ed wasn’t tough, just smart. I have all the old stuff.
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