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Confirmed: The next Perry Mason will be The Americans star Matthew Rhys
They finally cast the new Perry Mason.
The Everett Collection
UPDATE: It has now been confirmed that Matthew Rhys will star in the HBO reboot of Perry Mason. For the series, Rhys will also serve as producer. But take heed, fans of the original Perry Mason: This version of the character will not look or feel like the top defense lawyer we watched Raymond Burr perform. Instead, Rhys' Perry Mason will serve more as an origin story for the lawyer, showing him as a private investigator making his name and struggling with the aftermath of his destroyed marriage. It sounds way more angsty than the buttoned-up Burr version, so we can't help but wonder why mess with perfection?
When they cast Matthew Rhys to star in The Americans - an original spy thriller with a married couple at its heart - he was riveted by the pilot, because "it was so far from a procedural." Now, HBO is reportedly eyeing him to do the opposite, and embrace the starring role of one of the best-loved procedurals of all time, Perry Mason.
18 Comments
I have already declined to watch the reboot.
I will stick with the classic
I will stick with the classic
Is this based on the books or movies 30s & 40s or TV series 1957-66, and TV movies in the 1980s or all them? When were the books set? Is Po all Drake Cop or another PI in this show?
Since this post now we find out that it won't even have Della Street, Paul Drake, Hamilton Burger or Arthur Tragg. So why call it Perry Mason? Because you for damn sure ain't got Perry Mason without any of these characters
Aaarrrgh.
So if you are not going to do Perry Mason, WHY call it Perry Mason ?
I am sure it will be a fine program, and MANY shows varied off their original premise and became successful. But this would be like taking "After M*A*S*H" and having them open a hardware store in the suburbs of Chicago.
So if you are not going to do Perry Mason, WHY call it Perry Mason ?
I am sure it will be a fine program, and MANY shows varied off their original premise and became successful. But this would be like taking "After M*A*S*H" and having them open a hardware store in the suburbs of Chicago.
I think part of the nostalgia of Perry Mason is the period setting and vehicles. This atmosphere would be impossible to reproduce now-a-days. Not watching and "they" shouldn't bother...
He looks more like he could play a young Adrian Monk (Tony Shaloub).
I really dug Rhys in The Americans..However I'm kinda uneasy about this casting. Don't get me wrong I like the idea of a Perry Mason show and was on board for Robert Downey Jr. playing the character(he's done law for the small screen before), but now...I'm open to it, but will proceed with caution..
Perry Mason is clearly a role meant for and only for Raymond Burr because anyone else who tried it before or after him failed. And I get them thinking if they change it so much it could work but I still think that it won't work because there just seems to only be room for Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale and the others
I think they're wise to give it a new twist. You can only watch the original Perry Mason episodes so many times over and over. Which makes me ask MeTV, why not run some of the other year's episodes too. They're beginning to repeat now.
If it's going to be different why call it Perry Mason? This is just wrong. Please no.
In other words, "We're going to create an entirely new character, but we're going to call him Perry Mason. Just because we can."
A "new" Perry Mason TV series was tried in 1973 with Monte Markham and it didn't make it past the first season. Maybe a younger generation can see someone other than Raymond Burr play our favorite counselor, but I don't think most of us Boomers can.
Maybe because Markham tried to be Burr, in the role. Unwise.
I just don't get it. Why bring back a classic, calling it "Perry Mason" with another actor? How can a show separate the writing, directing from the acting which makes it uniquely "that" show. Otherwise it becomes another show about a famous lawyer who solves every case! The same with Magnum P.I. Not that I was a huge fan, but Tom Selleck brought Magnum to life, and that's the point of why the show becomes popular. To me, it's just fair to the original creators who worked so hard good shows.
It's just NOT fair to the original creators!
I will not watch it.
I don't really see Rhys as Mason, I'm thinking either Paul Drake or Hamilton Burger!
I won't watch it. I tried with one re-boot, Hawaii 50, and that did it for me. Your mouth is set for the real thing of course, and of course, the real thing is long gone. I gave it a decent time..several months. The "flavor" was gone. But the rest of you all, enjoy. I'm an old fuddy duddy--- admitted.