Will There Be a ‘Perry Mason’ Season 2? What We Know So Far About the Next Chapter in the HBO Series
[This article contains spoilers for the August 2 episode of Perry Mason.]
The cast is (almost) closed. On this season of HBO’s new series Perry Mason the titular detective (played by Matthew Rhys) has doggedly investigated the gruesome murder of Charlie Dodson. He’s taken on the defense of Charlie’s mother Emily (Gayle Rankin), who almost everyone believes committed the crime. In the process, he’s uncovered a web of deceit and corruption tied to the Sister Alice’s (Tatiana Maslany) church, the Radiant Assembly of God.
What happened in ‘Perry Mason’ episode 7?
In episode 7, Mason discovered the Radiant Assembly was in severe financial trouble after the wealthy Herman Baggerly (Robert Patrick) stopped his generous donations. Charlie’s kidnapping was likely a ploy to get Baggerly, the child’s grandfather, to fork over a $100,000 ransom. The money would save the deeply indebted megachurch. But the boy’s accidental death meant the kidnappers had to find someone to blame for his murder.
Mason is more convinced than ever that his client Emily is innocent. But will he be able to convince a jury? Viewers will find out in the season finale of Perry Mason, which airs August 9.
Will there be a ‘Perry Mason’ Season 2?
Presumably, this season of Perry Mason will end in a verdict in Emily Dodson’s trial. However, it’s anyone’s guess whether she’ll be found guilty or innocent. But that may not be the last we see of Emily, Sister Alice, and some of the other colorful characters we’ve met this season. That’s because HBO has renewed the series.
“It has been an exciting journey to work with the immensely talented team behind Perry Mason,” HBO Programming’s executive vice president Francesca Orsi said in a statement. “Viewers have relished being transported back in time to 1930s Los Angeles each week, and we are thrilled to welcome the show back for a second season.”
HBO has not announced a premiere date for season 2. Nor is there any word on casting, though we have to assume that Rhys will be back as Mason. Whether Juliet Rylance as Mason’s legal secretary Della Street, Shea Whigham as investigator Pete Strickland, and Chris Chalk as police officer Paul Drake will return remains to be seen.
‘Perry Mason’ was supposed to be a limited series
The news that Perry Mason has been renewed for season 2 comes as something of a surprise. The show was originally billed as a limited series. But Rhys told Collider that continuing the story was a possibility, depending on the response to the show.
“The commission was a limited series, and that’s what it was HBO,” the actor said. “They’ve talked about a second series, but I think that’s dependent on how this first one broadcasts. But at the time, that’s all there was, and that’s all they set out to do, initially, to see how it does.”
Eight million people watched the first episode of Perry Mason, according to HBO. That’s the highest number for a series premiere for the premium cable network in two years. And there are certainly more Mason stories to tell. The character was introduced in a series of novels by Erle Stanley Gardner that were the inspiration for multiple movies and a long-running TV show starring Raymond Burr. If the new Perry Mason continues to be popular with viewers, the justice-focused defense attorney could once again become a television fixture.
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