Mason takes a stand
With second season of Perry Mason now in session, the brilliant lawyer faces a crisis of faith, writes siobhan duck
THE formula was part of the fun for viewers of Perry Mason, which aired from 1957 to 1966. By episode’s end, Mason – a brilliant defence lawyer armed with perfectly coiffured hair, a neat suit and razor-sharp arguments – would get his witness to break down on the stand, admitting they were the real killer.
So when word got out that HBO was planning a reboot with Mason depicted not as a successful, no-nonsense lawyer but as a drunken war veteran with posttraumatic stress disorder, who was only just getting by with private detective work; fans were eager to assess whether this modern interpretation would stand up in the court of public opinion.
Even the latest Mason, The Americans’ Matthew Rhys, was sceptical about the endeavour, and not because he was an avid fan of the classic TV show starring Raymond Burr, nor the original novel series written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Rather, the actor wondered if there was any need to bring back an old show – until he heard the opening argument by executive producers, actor Robert Downey Jr and his wife, producer Susan Downey.
“At the time, a lot of people were saying that we were remaking Perry Mason when, in fact, I think we actually re-meet Perry Mason,” Rhys says. “What they said to me was that this was a reimagining, and we wanted to start afresh with a new Perry Mason, a new backstory – a new everything.”
It’s not just Mason who was given a makeover: his loyal secretary Della Street (Juliet Rylance) and his cop pal – and former investigator – Paul Drake (Chris Chalk) are now characters navigating homophobia, sexism and racism in Los Angeles in the 1930s.
“That was part of the reason behind putting it back in time,” Rhys explains of the retro setting. “Because it can highlight some glaring modern issues or problems society has at the moment, too.”
There’s nothing new in reviving sleuths on the screen. Mystery buffs can debate if Downey Jr, Benedict Cumberbatch or Jonny Lee Miller had the better take on Sherlock Holmes, or if Kenneth Branagh’s Hercule Poirot has made Agatha Christie’s detective more relevant to current tastes than versions that stayed true to the novels. But to purists who prefer Mason as an infallible and predictable white knight of the legal system, Rhys says the core of the character remains the same.
“He still has a strong moral compass of what’s right or wrong,” he offers. “I think that’s something universal that these sorts of crime dramas need – you want to believe there’s someone who will fight for what’s right.”
Now that Perry Mason has won over audiences and critics alike, Rhys says he feels less pressure slipping into Mason’s wrinkled trench coat to dig deeper into his character in season two, free from any predetermined structure for future episodes. “I was very relieved when I found out this wasn’t just going to be a season of Mason knocking out cases,” he admits.
Instead, we’ll see Mason “having a crisis of faith in himself”, Rhys reveals. “He’s very much doubting himself because his evolution to lawyer was very streamlined and quick, so he’s wondering whether he’s even right for this job.”