While Eric Stanley Gardner's book-born character Perry Mason is more normally associated with the courtroom drama that starred Raymond Burr, he has a history that stretches back to before he was an older defence attorney. And HBO's new series, which stars Matthew Rhys, dips into those days. Check out the first trailer.
"Everyone is guilty," says Rhys' Mason in voice-over, as he investigates a new case in 1930s Los Angeles. While the rest of the country recovers from the Great Depression, this city is booming. Oil! Olympic Games! Talking Pictures! Evangelical Fervor! And a child kidnapping gone very, very wrong! At this time in his life, Mason is living paycheque to paycheque as a low-rent private eye. 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 cast also includes Tatiana Maslany, John Lithgow, Stephen Root and Robert Patrick, and the show's basic concept was originally formed from Robert Downey Jr. aiming to play the character in a movie. He's still aboard, but only as a producer.
Perry Mason will launch on HBO in the States on 21 June, and Sky should have it over here around the same.