Matthew Rhys to play Perry Mason in HBO limited series

TVLine

The Emmy-winning The Americans alum has signed on to take on the role of the iconic fictional criminal defense lawyer, who was famously played by Raymund Burr from the 1950s through the 1990s. Robert Downey Jr., who was originally eyed to play Mason when the reboot was first revealed in August 2016, will serve as executive producer. Rhys will play Mason as a low-rent private investigator who is living check-to-check in 1932 Los Angeles. Here is the official logline: "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."