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Perry Mason (2020)

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 58 Critic Reviews

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69

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 40 Ratings

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6.4

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6.4	Your Score
6.4	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 40 Ratings

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Perry Mason

Now Playing: Perry Mason

Perry Mason (2020)

Series Details & Credits

HBO | Release Date: June 21, 2020

Summary: Set in the 1930s, Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys) is a private detective who beings looking into a child kidnapping case.

Genre(s): Drama, Suspense

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Stream On

Recent Episodes

tbd
S2:E8. Chapter 16
Air Date: April 24, 2023
tbd
S2:E7. Chapter 15
Air Date: April 17, 2023
tbd
S2:E6. Chapter 14
Air Date: April 10, 2023

See all Seasons and Episodes

Metascore

69

Positive:

39

Mixed:

19

Negative:

0

Critic Reviews

100

Washington Post

Hank Stuever

Jun 17, 2020

Season 1 Review: “Perry Mason” perfectly and methodically lays out a compelling and expanding mystery (which is, after all, the main attraction in a genre story), while giving remarkable shape to characters whose stories will resonate with a modern audience. ... Not a drop of talent is wasted here. Read full review

83

TV Guide

Keith Phipps

Mar 6, 2023

Season 2 Review: Season 2 — which also features notable supporting performances from Hope Davis, Katherine Waterston, a returning Shea Whigham, and others — also confirms the sense that the first season was effectively eight episodes of winding up. With these episodes Perry Mason really gets going. Read full review

80

CNN

Brian Lowry

Mar 6, 2023

Season 2 Review: HBO’s dark revisionist version of Perry Mason didn’t reach its top tier of dramas in the first season but comes considerably closer in the second, achieving a film-noir-ish cool that leans deeply into “L.A. Confidential” territory. Filtering race, sexuality and the corrupting influence of wealth through a 1930s lens, the series feels more relevant and compelling as a glimpse of the present through that past. Read full review

70

New York Magazine (Vulture)

Jen Chaney

Jun 18, 2020

Season 1 Review: A simultaneously gorgeous, gritty, and sometimes downright gory period piece filled with fine performances, but also overloaded a little with B and C storylines that could have been streamlined or cut. The excess fat in Perry Mason is a flaw, but not enough of one to detract from what is, overall, a fine and absorbing season of television. Read full review

65

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Rob Owen

Jun 18, 2020

Season 1 Review: HBO’s remake of “Perry Mason” pulls together great elements, casting and period production design in particular, but it takes a full five episodes to get to the courtroom drama viewers familiar with the character expect. Read full review

60

RogerEbert.com Brian Tallerico

Jun 19, 2020

Season 1 Review: It is a gorgeous show in terms of production design and the cast is strong from top to bottom, but writers Rolin Jones & Ron Fitzgerald struggle to find a story worth investing in for at least the first half of the eight-episode season. The back half is much stronger, and the performances elevate the production throughout, but with attention spans diminished by the state of the world in 2020, “Perry Mason” could struggle to hold viewers this summer. ... The jury is still out on that one. Read full review

40

The Telegraph Anita Singh

Jun 22, 2020

Season 1 Review: It is not, by any stretch of the imagination, Perry Mason. ... There is very little to like about him, but Rhys is an excellent actor who imbues the character with a sorrow that makes us – just – want to root for him. It is hard to take this drama on its own terms, because its creators clearly don’t want us to; they’ve hitched their wagon to the Perry Mason name, and have thrown in re-imagined versions of familiar characters. Read full review

SEE ALL 58 REVIEWS

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6.4

User Reviews

10

jmart1963

Aug 7, 2020

Gripping, compelling, great storytelling. This isn’t your grandparents’ Perry Mason. Love the Raymond Burr series. Also love what HBO did with this version of Mason. Hope there will be a season 2. Matthew Rhys, Jonathan Lithgow, and supporting cast are awesome.

0 of 5 users found this helpful05

10

SDB84

Aug 11, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Here is an example of why a series should be re-reviewed for Metacritic after the final episode. So many of the complaints are negated as the series goes on, such as Perry Mason was actually an attorney and not an investigator, and he had good battles in court, worked with Street, had his own investigator, etc... This show is very true to the story of Perry Mason, and it is one of the best series I have seen in a long time. Basing a review of it on one episode is criminal.… Expand

0 of 6 users found this helpful06

10

killercanines

Apr 25, 2023

Perry Mason is one of the most well-acted, well-dressed, compelling shows on television in a long, long time. Every cast member puts their soul into their role, and the writing is superb -- this is not the kind of show you can watch while playing on your phone or you're going to miss out.Perry Mason is one of the most well-acted, well-dressed, compelling shows on television in a long, long time. Every cast member puts their soul into their role, and the writing is superb -- this is not the kind of show you can watch while playing on your phone or you're going to miss out. The story is tragic in a devastatingly human way, but you do not leave feeling hopeless. It is great storytelling behind a gritty whodunnit.

People shocked that a modern reboot of a show (which, I don't care to call it that -- it's an adaptation of the novels) is very different than its **1950's** counterpart, frankly, need to get a grip. If you want a show that won't be accused of going "woke" for daring to have a Black person in it, you can go watch Succession.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

6

UncleWillard

Jun 22, 2020

Only seen the premier, but I'm intrigued. Got a Chinatown vibe I like. I only have vague memories of the old show, but this is nothing like that.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

4

WatchinMovies

Mar 12, 2023

Not very faithful to the books. Not remotely like the 1957 TV show. The atmosphere is drab for LA in the 1930s. The acting is marginal. The story line is marginal. The extraneous morality is marginal (really vulgar). We'd give this "don't waste your time as it's quite disappointing".

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

3

BlueRaja

Mar 26, 2023

We kept waiting for it to get better but it just kept getting worse. There were a LOT of plotholes, a lot of things that were never explained, and a lot of frustratingly unresolved threads. At the end, one of the characters says something the writers clearly thought was really clever, andWe kept waiting for it to get better but it just kept getting worse. There were a LOT of plotholes, a lot of things that were never explained, and a lot of frustratingly unresolved threads. At the end, one of the characters says something the writers clearly thought was really clever, and then smiles knowingly and walks away from the other character. It wasn't clever - it made no **** sense. My wife and I were both pulling out our hair and screaming at the TV. Just skip this one.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

0

tombombadill

Jun 22, 2020

Not worthy of the Perry Mason name. This lacks all the charm and wit of the original and tries to convince you it is clever or sophisticated by bombarding you with shock fodder.

5 of 12 users found this helpful57

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Seasons & Episodes

69

Series Overview
Season 2

71
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: March 6, 2023
- tbd
  S2:E8. Chapter 16
  Air Date: April 24, 2023
- tbd
  S2:E7. Chapter 15
  Air Date: April 17, 2023
- tbd
  S2:E6. Chapter 14
  Air Date: April 10, 2023
- tbd
  S2:E5. Chapter 13
  Air Date: April 3, 2023
- tbd
  S2:E4. Chapter 12
  Air Date: March 27, 2023
- tbd
  S2:E3. Chapter 11
  Air Date: March 20, 2023
- tbd
  S2:E2. Chapter 10
  Air Date: March 13, 2023
- tbd
  S2:E1. Chapter 9
  Air Date: March 6, 2023
Season 1

68
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: June 21, 2020