One of the most anticipated shows coming out this year (at least for anyone who misses seeing Philip Jennings’ sad face, which should be everyone) is HBO’s Perry Mason.
Based on hard-boiled characters created by author Erle Stanley Gardner, who have appeared in novels and radio and TV shows since the 1930s, the drama series “follows the origins of American fiction’s most legendary criminal defense lawyer, Perry Mason,” according to HBO. “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.” The city: Los Angeles. The year: 1931. The case: a “child kidnapping gone very, very wrong.” The teaser above: doesn’t give away many specifics, but it does have Matthew Rhys saying, “The way I see it, there’s what’s legal… and there’s what’s right.” That’s all I (and a thirsty HBO and Robert Downey, Jr.) need.
Perry Mason, which also stars John Lithgow, Tatiana Maslany, Juliet Rylance, Chris Chalk, Shea Whigham, Stephen Root, Gayle Rankin, Nate Corddry, Veronica Falcon, Jefferson Mays, Lili Taylor, Andrew Howard, Eric Lange, Robert Patrick, and a ton of old-time hats, premieres on HBO on June 21 at 9 p.m. EST.