Confirmed: The next Perry Mason will be The Americans star Matthew Rhys
They finally cast the new Perry Mason.
UPDATE: It has now been confirmed that Matthew Rhys will star in the HBO reboot of Perry Mason. For the series, Rhys will also serve as producer. But take heed, fans of the original Perry Mason: This version of the character will not look or feel like the top defense lawyer we watched Raymond Burr perform. Instead, Rhys' Perry Mason will serve more as an origin story for the lawyer, showing him as a private investigator making his name and struggling with the aftermath of his destroyed marriage. It sounds way more angsty than the buttoned-up Burr version, so we can't help but wonder why mess with perfection?
When they cast Matthew Rhys to star in The Americans - an original spy thriller with a married couple at its heart - he was riveted by the pilot, because "it was so far from a procedural." Now, HBO is reportedly eyeing him to do the opposite, and embrace the starring role of one of the best-loved procedurals of all time, Perry Mason.
18 Comments
So if you are not going to do Perry Mason, WHY call it Perry Mason ?
I am sure it will be a fine program, and MANY shows varied off their original premise and became successful. But this would be like taking "After M*A*S*H" and having them open a hardware store in the suburbs of Chicago.