User reviews

I'm completely puzzled by the reviews of this series. I love good noir. The series, in my view, is the best contemporary noir since LA Confidential. The cinematography is beautiful, the plot doesn't insult me, and you actually have to listen to the dialogue to follow the plot. The characters don't look like something out of Entertainment Tonight, and the meter, cadence, and thstructure are right on time. If you like noir, and you're not texting, posting on Twitter or Instagram while you watch, you won't find anything better.

I've never left a review on here, but I feel I have to with all the backlash I'm reading. No, he's not an attorney, but I feel he will evolve into that throughout further seasons with Della by his side. I love the gritty, dark vibes in the show and think it's an excellent noir with great acting and writing all around, especially considering HBO's less than stellar track record with shows lately. I hope more people enjoy it too and it buds into an excellent multi-season series.

I can't believe the hate I'm reading. I heard of Perry Mason from my parents. Its an origin story and it won't always match up with the original and THATS OK. The cinematography is great, the writing is top notch, the story is awesome. This is the Noir that we need. If you want a good show to distract you from the current world, watch this show.

So far I like this series. It is different from the original series, but that's okay with me. If there is a Season 2, etc., I think the show will evolve Perry Mason's career into the type of attorney people remember from the original series. John Lithgow's character is a defense attorney and described as his mentor.

Otherwise, the story is compelling and the acting is amazing. It is a bit dark, perhaps too dark. But the hardboiled detective genre works for me, and the cast wears it well.

...and I'm not disappointed. I'm all for providing an old story an origin, and this production gives you just that and does it very well. And, boy, is it gritty, dusty, smoky, and boozy. It is not for the weak-stomached. Keep in mind that this is an old story being told in today's voice. The Perry Mason of the 60's is an interpretation of his character for television audience of that decade, produced for family network TV, while the HBO version is for an audience that expects what HBO is capable of delivering. Can't wait for the finale to see how it all comes together.

This take on the characters and storyline is masterful - the characters are very well developed and present people realistically: fallible, dedicated, lustful, angry, passionate, evil and naive.

Why is showing fighting and killing okay, but scenes of lust, sex and nudity responded to by the average viewer as if these emotions and acts are not a natural part of being human?

No, this version of Perry Mason isn't anything like the original and that's fine - it's a different interpretation, not a script carved in stone. The individual characters are well-defined, the setting is much more interesting than the 1950s of the original and the plots captivating.

This series didn't get 35 Emmy nominations and three wins for nothing.

This series was a weird mish mash of 21st century culture clashing with 1930's reality. Alternative lifestyles, racism, politics, corruption, religious zealots, chauvanism, and uncertain economics all interwoven into a crime of the century murder trial. It all ends up sort of like Chinatown, with Perry Mason instead of the PI Jake utterly confused by what has just transpired. And that was my real question, is why Perry Mason. Why take something that most are familiar with and turn it upside down? There comes a point where your just using the name Perry Mason, and not much else. Its like taking Superman, taking away all his super powers, his cape, and making him a cop on the beat, but still calling him Superman. It doesn't make much sense. So its watchable at a time when a lot isn't and that's why it gets 6 stars. If you want Perry Mason, better invest in some old VHS or DVD's

The acting is superb. Storyline was a little slow starting off, but now can not wait till next episode.

This is a reboot of the Perry Mason series that is nothing like the original which was based on a series of books written by Erle Stanley Gardner.

In this much darker reboot there was some phenomenal cinematography. It was filmed in an almost film noir kind of light...with slower moments and they didn't shy away from social commentary(which may be one of my few complaints about season one, which overall I enjoyed).

I think you have to scrub your mind of the other iterations of Perry Mason and give this series a clean slate in order to enjoy it...otherwise you might get caught up in all of the new back story like: Della Street is a lesbian and lives with her handmodel roommate, Paul Drake is an African American police officer with a very pregnant wife, and at least at the beginning of the series Perry Mason is a down on his luck barely making ends meet private investigator who is divorced from his wife who is raising their son, living on his deceased family's dairy farm that a Hispanic female pilot and some times lover is trying to purchase for a song to expand her airport while Perry drowns his sorrows in alcohol. It is implied that he received a dishonorable discharge from WWII for shooting fellow allied soldiers to put them out of their misery and hasn't been the same since.

As mentioned, a lot of social issues are introduced to the story as well as new backstories for these well-known and beloved characters...but if you can get past it, The Who-done-it mystery of season one and the cinematography are fantastic! Additionally, there is another wonderful performance by Orphan Black's Tatiana Maslaney, who plays an evangelical minister in Hollywood where she claims she is going to bring the dead baby back to life.

It was a bit of a chess game putting all of the players on the board where we know they are in position to play and I for one am looking forward to what is instort for season two. Hopefully there will be another great mystery...and maybe a little less social justice.

Final note: Johnathan Lithgow was phenomenal as E. B.. I always enjoy his acting, but he played this heart wrenching character flawlessly. I loved the still moments with just him the best...like filling the bird feeder.

This is a completely different story, in a different time and place than the 1950s TV series. It's darker, messier, less predictable. That's not a bad thing. Maybe this is a Perry Mason origin story that will eventually lead to the polished courtroom wizard we all know and love; maybe it won't. I don't really care. It's a ride worth taking no matter what. It feels like Chinatown; it's got some things in common with Showtime's Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. The acting and production values are first-rate. Like many series first episodes, it takes time to set up characters and situations - the pace should pick up. I'm intrigued enough to see where it goes from here.

Grew up on and enjoyed the two versions of the Perry Mason series/movies that stared Raymond Burr. They were based on the Earle Stanley Gardner books and followed his style well. This series is definitely not at all like its predecessors nor the books. Where Burr's version of Mason was a successful lawyer with a upstanding reputation and quick thinking to get clients out of a jam, Rhys' Mason is a down and out lawyer working as a PI who takes on shady clients (photos of a man & his mistress), then double crosses his client for more money. Della is a more sassy character here and she doesn't so much keep Perry organized as keeps him honest. As the first episode goes on, you do see things come together that shows some finer character traits when he is dealing with the viewing of the baby corpse in a murder he is investigating. These little snippets of emotion could potentially lead to a more refined character in later episodes even as he maintains a "rough around the edges" personality. I'm not totally sold on this new variation of Mason, but it intrigued me enough that I'll watch a few more episodes hoping the writers are building to something that will hook me in for the long run.

This is obviously a prequel to the original Perry Mason which shows us what made the man he became . Matthew Rhys portrayal is outstanding.

This is quality show. The writing the characters the actors performance and above all the music theme. I really enjoyed watching it.

While incredibly poorly made shows like Welma got green light the real cinema gets cancelled.

I am really disappointed with HBO. Looking at their catalogue one must ask whether they are targeting an average viewer or a fringe millennial, with mixed up understanding of life, love and itself. Or shall I say themselves? Not sure any more.

Hope one day they calculate their budget and fire the whole marketing team and become a popular streaming service for real people once again.

In a shadowy world a shadowy man emerges from the dark and absolutely becomes a hero. I wont write a review. I just watched the show in awe while it effortlessly handles the tone shift in the 2nd half of the series, its masterful. The acting all around is brilliant and the set/costume designs are wonderful ... thats all i'll say, its a must watch

If you are hoping this series will be like Raymond Burr's 1957 PERRY MASON, then release that expectation. This is an HBO production, so you can expect nudity, crude language, politically corrected characters and violence. What you will also find is some very talented actors giving convincing performances. Matthew Rhys portrays an evolving character, slowly breaking free from PTSD. I cringed when I heard that Tatiana Maslany's character was going to be an Aimee Semple McPherson copy, but I have to give credit to Tatiana, she didn't settle for disparaging stereotype but, unsurprisingly, gave a nuanced performance of a young woman caught in extraordinary circumstances. BRAVO. In essence this first season is an origin story for the character of PERRY MASON. It begins in one place and ends with Perry Mason, lawyer. I enjoyed it and will look forward to the second season. I give it an 8 (great) out of 10. {Crime Drama}

I've written reviews for each season of this "Perry Mason" reboot but now that HBO have confirmed the cancellation, I thought I'd put something here too.

Up front, I don't really have any lasting affection for the original series - I'm aware of its existence, but for whatever reason never really watched it. I came to this pretty much solely on the basis that Matthew Rhys was in it, and in that regard I wasn't disappointed.

An investigator for an aging but high-profile attorney, Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys) takes pictures and does legwork with his colleague Pete Strickland (Shea Whigham). The team become embroiled in the case of a child abduction gone tragically wrong when, separately, both parents, Matthew Dodson (Nate Corddry) and then his wife Emily (Gayle Rankin) are accused of being involved. The case widens to involve officers within the LAPD and a profitable revival church, led by a charismatic pastor, Sister Alice McKeegan (Tatiana Maslany).

What's clear from the outside is that this is prestige TV. Away from the cast already mentioned, you can add Juliet Rylance, John Lithgow, Chris Chalk, Lily Taylor, Stephen Root, Robert Patrick, Jefferson Mays and a host of other recognisable names and faces. So, to say that the performances in the series are good, goes without saying. The period recreations are also excellent, with the series set in Los Angeles in the 1930's. The melancholy jazz music that drifts through the episodes, even down to little stylistic choices, like the way the title cards interact with the perspective of characters is very cool.

I felt it was rather slow moving until Mason takes over as lead attorney and the trial starts in earnest. I did OK with its relentlessly bleak tone, but I'd accept anyone's complaints that it was too much for them as being understandable. The second season retains the undoubted quality of the first, but does indeed focus more on the case, and the effect it has on Mason, than on the man himself.

I'm honestly disappointed that HBO has made this decision, particular as this second run seems to have found a better balance.

I very much enjoyed this dark, gritty iteration of Perry Mason, although it seems to share very little with any previous versions beyond names. Personally, I had no attachment to the older Perry Mason, but I think you would be best served to just consider it a completely new show. It didn't bother me, but I can see how it might bother fans.

The show itself is a slow burn, with great acting and diverse, complex characters. I appreciate how well they integrated stories of a variety of people organically. That said, sometimes it seemed like the number of characters became unwieldy and a bit distracting, but not a major issue. The sets and cinematography were also high quality and immersive, which very much enhanced the story telling.

Overall, a well-written, character-driven exploration of the underbelly of Depression Era California.

Few know that ESG gave the Mason characters no backstory at all in the books (all we find out, in book 3, is that PM was a Leo...that's all). That gives the writers of this series a lot of leeway, which they did by giving Perry Mason a lot of Erl Stanley Gardner's own personal backstory. For instance, ESG never went to law school but passed the legal bar on experience as a clerk, just like Mason in the new series.

This new series is stylish, a cinematic feast of authenticity, with jazzy undertones. The cast is first-rate. Sit back & enjoy the ride. The more than serviceable stories are just a framework to showcase 1930's Los Angeles.

All the producers have done is used the name to encourage people to watch the show.

This is not the character of Perry Mason, who even in the 1930s, when the books first appeared, was not a detective. He was always an attorney.

Matthew Rhys is a wonderful actor, I love him, and this show is along the lines of a noir-type film like LA Confidential (another favorite of mine). Because it's HBO they've pulled out the stops on grossness, violence, foul language, and nudity. All of which are fine with me (except the grossness).

But watch the show for the above-described elements, not because you want to watch good old "Perry Mason" - this ain't it. I'm giving it a 5 because I resent the way they've just taken the name and not connected it to the Erl Stanley Gardner creation. Rhys as star and HBO budget and production values should have been enough to lure audiences in - with another title.

Not necessarily critical feedback, but from an entertainment perspective that is subjective, I really enjoyed this story to the point that I have seen, which is Ep. 3. Twists and turns, historical climate and authentic scenic backdrop all done very well with great acting to boot. I recommend this to viewers looking for, what I believe to be well done noir. Now will someone in the industry step up and produce a new series based on Erle Stanley Gardner's character Perry Mason? I would be interested in seeing a more true-to-nature approach to the old television characters. I would like to see who they could pair with (with a modern edge) past and current actors who played Perry, Della, (incidentally, a character in this version's incarnation that I thought paired well) Paul, Trang, Burger, etc.