‘Perry Mason’ Canceled: No Season 3 for HBO Reboot

Perry Mason, the critically acclaimed HBO series starring Mathew Rhys as the title character, was canceled on Tuesday. The series ran for two seasons, with the second wrapping up in April. It was a new take on the Perry Mason character created by Erle Stanley Gardner, famously portrayed by Raymond Burr in the 1957-1966 CBS series.

This new series moved the action to 1932 Los Angeles, where Perry is a private investigator who becomes a defense attorney. He faces the trauma of a divorce and serving in World War I. In the first season, Perry was hired to investigate a child kidnapping. Juliet Rylance co-starred as legal secretary Della Street and Chis Chalk played police officer Paul Drake. Season 1 also featured Shea Whigham, Tatiana Maslany, John Lithgow, Kustin Kirk, Diarra Kilpatrick, and Eric Lange. Katherine Waterston joined the cast for Season 2.

Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald created the new series, which counted Robert Downey Jr. as one of its executive producers. Downey was at one point going to star in the project when it was first announced with True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto also involved. After Downey dropped out, Rhys emerged as the new lead. Other executive producers on the final product include Downey’s wife and producing partner Susan Downey, Amanda Burrell, Joe Horaceck, Tim Van Patten, Michael Begler, Jack Amiel, and Rhys.

“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,” HBO told Deadline. “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.”

Downey Jr. had hoped for another season, but the show’s cost couldn’t be justified considering its low viewership. “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,” Downey Jr. told Deadline in April. “We would be lying if we didn’t say we’ve certainly been talking to Michael a ton about a third season, but our fate rests in the hands of others.”

It also didn’t help that Perry Mason failed to attract awards attention, which has always been a huge bellwether for an HBO show’s chances. Rhys and Lithgow earned the show’s only Primetime Emmy nominations in 2021. Cinematographer David Franco and production designers John Goldsmith, Chris Farmer and Halina Siwolop earned Primetime Creative Arts Emmy nominations for their work.

Downey’s next HBO project will see him stepping in front of the camera. He stars in The Sympathizer, a miniseries based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a North Vietnamese captain who secretly spies on a community of South Vietnamese refugees living in the U.S. Hoa Xuande stars in the lead role. It is expected to be released next year.