The long anticipated HBO production is moving forward at last.
As announced by The Hollywood Reporter, Matthew Rhys has signed up to play Mason, with Robert Downey Jr. still attached as an Executive Producer. Downey had been previously listed as the lead of the show.
The series order was secured once Tim Van Patten signed up as Executive Producer and Director.
Per HBO, Perry Mason takes place in 1932, Los Angeles. "While the rest of the country recovers from the Great Depression, this city is booming! Oil! Olympic Games! Talking Pictures! Evangelical Fervor! And a child kidnapping gone very, very wrong! Based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner, this limited series follows the origins of American fiction's most legendary criminal defense lawyer, Perry Mason. When the case of the decade breaks down his door, Mason's relentless pursuit of the truth reveals a fractured city and just maybe, a pathway to redemption for himself."
Perry Mason is being executive produced by Downey, Susan Downey and Amanda Burrell of Team Downey, along with Jones, Fitzgerald, Joe Horacek and Van Patten. Rhys is also a producer.
Sources: