The verdict is in: Perry Mason is being sentenced to oblivion by HBO.
According to news reports in Deadline and other publications, the series starring Matthew Rhys as the iconic prosecutor won’t be renewed for a third season. HBO issued the following statement announcing the cancellation: “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.”
Weeks before the cancellation, Robert Downey Jr. seemed prepared to accept his fate when he remarked: “I think that Matthew and all the other people populating it in front of the screen—all our people behind the scenes—have built this incredible world that I know we could continue to tell really interesting stories about. We would be lying if we didn’t say we’ve certainly been talking to [co-executive producer] Michael [Begler] a ton about a third season, but our fate rests in the hands of others.”
The show’s first season had won several Emmy nominations, but it appeared that creative issues were not the only factors at play.
Earlier, Francesca Orsi, who heads up drama programming at HBO, was quoted as saying: “Each show has a job to do, given the price tag that we give to it, and there’s a viewership.
component, and there’s a critical response element to it and of course, the buzz nature of a show. It’s those elements that we are always keeping in mind and discussing relative to whether or not a show will continue.”
Orsi added “We’re really proud of Perry Mason and loved working with Team Downey and Michael Begler this season on the show. I’m really proud of what we delivered for Season 2.”
Writers and co-showrunners of the cancelled show were Jack Amiel and Michael Begler. The series is based on the characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner, who wrote 82 novels about Mason.
Raymond Burr starred as Perry Mason in the iconic television series that ran on CBS from 1957 to 1966.
The New Perry Mason, starring Monte Markham, ran during the 1973-74 season.
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