‘Perry Mason’ is an acting showcase
Remakes are terrible. Except when they’re not. “Fargo” proved that. Add “Perry Mason” (9 p.m. Sunday, HBO, TV-MA) to the list of superlative do-overs. The original “Perry Mason” was a hugely popular vehicle for Raymond Burr, with an unforgettable theme song. But even the youngest among its original audience have been eligible for Medicare for some time now.
The HBO version offers a prequel, following the characters created by Erle Stanley Garner in 1932, in the depths of the Depression. Matthew Rhys (“The Americans”) plays the title character, not as a lawyer, but as a shell-shocked, damaged man who works as an investigator for the unraveling attorney Elias Birchard “E.B.” Jonathan (John Lithgow). The first episodes include violent flashbacks to Mason’s harrowing experiences in the trenches.
There are simply too many ways to appreciate this series. Its production beautifully evokes Depression-era Los Angeles. Visually, it’s HBO’s most impressive period piece since “Boardwalk Empire.”
Simply put, the cast is astounding. Rhys was consistently underappreciated for his role in “The Americans” as a Welsh actor playing a Russian agent speaking in an American accent who in turn plays several alter-egos in every episode. Canadian actress Tatiana Maslany arrives here as radio evangelist and miracle worker Sister Alice McKeegan.
In “Orphan Black,” she, like Rhys, played multiple parts in every episode. They probably deserve 20 Emmys between them.
Here we get to see Lithgow (“The Crown”) as an aging lawyer at the end of his rope, battling a preening district attorney (Stephen Root) hellbent on sending a mother (Gayle Rankin) to the gallows, all to fuel his political ambitions. Root and Lithgow’s scenes together are reminders of why both are so consistently cast in quality work. Lithgow needs no introduction. Root has been a supporting actor in productions ranging from Mike Judge’s “King of the Hill,” many Coen Brothers movies, “Boardwalk Empire,” Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” and
“BoJack Horseman.”
Shea Whigham, memorable as Nucky’s compromised brother on “Boardwalk Empire,” plays Mason’s fellow investigator Pete Strickland. Not to give too much away, but over the course of the eight-episode series, Perry grows more idealistic (and becomes the lawyer we know from the TV series) while Pete keeps his nose to the streets and his eyes on his next paycheck.
Juliet Rylance stars as Della Street, the brains behind E.B., and Perry’s essential sidekick. This “Mason” adds elements to her character that would not pass muster on 1950s TV. I could go on, but that would involve further explanation of a complicated murder/kidnapping/ embezzlement plot that propels this compelling series.
But before I go, that guy playing the moneybags dad at the center of the story is Robert Patrick, star of “Die Hard 2” and “Terminator 2.”
Great casts don’t
always blend or deliver. A glance at Netflix’s abysmal “Space Force” will demonstrate that. But this cast presents a master class. “Mason” is not to be missed.
› Here’s something you don’t see every day. As of this writing, ABC has scheduled an “Interview With John Bolton” (9 p.m. Sunday) about his new book, “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir.” The White House has taken legal measures to suppress its publication. It’s interesting to note that the game show this interview replaces is called “Press Your Luck.” Stay tuned.
› Returning series include season two of “NOS4A2” (10 p.m. Sunday, AMC, BBC America, TV-14), starring Zachary Quinto as a seemingly immortal vampirelike creature who traps the souls of children in an enchanted Christmas village. Help yourself.