HBO cancels Perry Mason reboot after two seasons

Well, that’s disappointing. According to Deadline, HBO has cancelled its reboot of classic detective series Perry Mason. It comes with a regretful statement form the network:

"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. 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."

Matthew Rhys played Perry himself, a maladjusted private investigator turned maladjusted attorney. Juliet Rylance, Chris Chalk and Shea Whigman also starred, plus John Lithgow in season 1. Robert Downey Jr. was a producer, hence the mention of Team Downey.

HBO cancels its excellent Perry Mason reboot

It was a good cast. It was a good show. Perry Mason was set in the 1930s, and the period detail was impressive. If I had to guess, I’d also say that’s what doomed it. Perry Mason may not have had zombies or dragons, but it was still expensive to produce, and while it was quite good, it didn’t pull the numbers of HBO series like The Last of Us or House of the Dragon. Something had to give.

Still, it sucks we couldn’t have gotten at least one more season (or several more, while I’m dreaming). The series finale wrapped up the central case of season 2, but there were still several lingering questions, like how Perry will weather his stint in jail or the rise of Camilla Nygaard (Hope Davis) as the series’ next big bad.

The first two seasons of Perry Mason are available to stream on Max…for now.

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