HBO & 'The Americans' Game Matthew Rhys Willing To Raise 'Perry Mason' By Touching Modern Themes

Perry Mason being reimagined for TV in itself needs special appreciation and when the prospect of the same was first floated to veteran TV writer Rolin Jones, he asked himself the question that many might ask themselves in that particular situation.

“Everybody has the same reaction,” says Jones. “They go ‘Why? What the f–k for? No one is asking for that show.’”

Fair enough. As personified by the late Raymond Burr in the ’50s and ’60s, then again in the ’80s and ’90s, “Perry Mason” was a television institution less interesting than its times. A formulaic drama centered on a Los Angeles defense attorney whose clients always turned out to be wrongfully accused, the original “Perry Mason” set the mold for crime procedurals such as “Law & Order.” But contemporary audiences likely know it best as something that old people fall asleep to reruns of. In the double-platinum age of television, an HBO “Perry Mason” might be the unlikeliest of reboots.

“He lives and dies by his mantra, ‘There’s what’s legal, and there’s what’s right,’” says Matthew Rhys, who plays this new incarnation of Mason. “The one thing that elevates him is his sense of justice. In his past he was dealt such a huge blow by a betrayal of justice. It kind of becomes his North Star. So regardless of his means, ultimately, if what he does is right, it’s warranted.”

What do you think about the same? Leave in your comments below.