Drama Series “Perry Mason” Starrring Matthew Rhys as Perry Mason, Debuts June 21, Exclusively On HBO [VIDEO]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNATvJMPZaA

1931, Los Angeles– While the rest of the country struggles through 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 author Erle Stanley Gardner, drama series PERRY MASON, starring Emmy(R) winner Matthew Rhys, debuts Sunday, June 21 (9:00-10:00PM ET/PT) exclusively on HBO. The 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.

The series will also be available to stream on HBO GO, HBO NOW, and on HBO via HBO Max and other partners’ platforms.

PERRY MASON stars Matthew Rhys as Perry Mason, a low-rent private investigator who is living check-to-check and is haunted by his wartime experiences in France and suffering the effects of a broken marriage; John Lithgow as Elias Birchard “E.B.” Jonathan, a struggling attorney and a semi-regular employer of Mason; Juliet Rylance as Della Street, E.B. Jonathan’s creative and driven legal secretary; Tatiana Maslany as Sister Alice McKeegan, the leader of the Radiant Assembly of God, preaching to a hungry congregation and a radio audience across the country; Chris Chalk as Paul Drake, a beat cop with a knack for detective work; and Shea Whigham as Pete Strickland, who is hired by Mason as an extra set of eyes on his various investigations.

The series also stars Stephen Root, Gayle Rankin, Nate Corddry, Veronica Falcón, Jefferson Mays, Lili Taylor, Andrew Howard, Eric Lange, and Robert Patrick. A full list of character descriptions is available HERE.

Detective Ennis and Detective Holcomb (Andrew Howard and Eric Lange)

A commanding force as homicide detectives within the LAPD, they are masters of intimidation with a knack for getting their way without regard for proper procedure.

Della Street (Juliet Rylance)

As E.B. Jonathan’s legal secretary, she has the brains, know-how, creativity and drive to be a CEO at any modern-day corporation. But this is 1931…

Elias Birchard “E.B.” Jonathan (John Lithgow)

A struggling attorney and a semi-regular employer of private investigator, Perry Mason. A mentor and a father figure to Mason, E.B. is handed the kind of case he hasn’t seen in years: a high-profile parallel investigation to the LAPD involving a case of child kidnapping.

Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys)

Perry Mason is at a time in his life when he is living check-to-check as a low-rent private investigator. He is haunted by his wartime experiences in France and is suffering the effects of a broken marriage.

Lupe Gibbs (Veronica Falcón)

A pilot and hard-drinking owner of a speakeasy, Lupe is a she-demon of the California skies and the 3rd place air speed champion of the world.

Matthew Dodson (Nate Corddry)

A grocery store owner with a modest income, no one can explain why his 1-year-old son is targeted for ransom. His picture-perfect marriage begins to crumble as secrets are uncovered on all sides.

Maynard Barnes (Stephen Root)

A formidable prick of a man who knows how to glad-hand and intimidate whenever an occasion calls for either, District Attorney Maynard Barnes is confident in everything he does.

Pete Strickland (Shea Whigham)

Pete is hired by Mason as an extra set of eyes on his various investigations (some less than savory). Strickland has a brotherly rapport with Mason and a cheerfully rakish demeanor that wins friends and influences damsels.

Paul Drake (Chris Chalk)

A beat cop with a knack for detective work, Paul is an outlier, with the added challenge of having to navigate an extremely race-conscious city and a downright oppressive police department. He must weigh the responsibilities of being a husband and father against his desire to seek justice in a controversial and politically loaded case.

Herman Baggerly (Robert Patrick)

A major player in a variety of Southern California industries, he is a member of the same Pentecostal church as the Dodson family and hires E.B. Jonathan and Perry Mason to run a parallel investigation to the LAPD.

Sister Alice McKeegan (Tatiana Maslany)

A rare sight – the leader of the Radiant Assembly of God, preaching three sermons a day (21 a week!) to a hungry congregation and a radio audience that spans the country. Entertainer, politician, God’s conduit to the City of Angels, Sister Alice wields great power when she speaks, and plans to use it in ways only she can know.

Birdy McKeegan (Lili Taylor)

A pious and deeply devout woman, as Sister Alice’s mother and closest advisor, Birdy keeps things running smoothly at the Pentecostal church.

Virgil Sheets (Jefferson Mays)

Attendant at the City Morgue, Virgil is envious of the life of a private detective. A friend of Mason’s, he regularly gives him access to bodies (and their personal effects).

Emily Dodson (Gayle Rankin)

The mother of a 1-year-old kidnapping victim, she is convinced that she is being punished by God for an unstated transgression.

Episodes include:

Episode 1: “Chapter One”

Debut date: Sunday, June 21 (9:00-10:00PM ET/PT)

Los Angeles, 1931. On the heels of an unsavory investigation involving a famous comedian, Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys) – a PI struggling to make ends meet – and his right-hand man Pete Strickland (Shea Whigham) are hired by attorney E.B. Jonathan (John Lithgow), Perry’s mentor, to solve a perplexing case: the brutal kidnapping of one-year-old Charlie Dodson, whose parents Matthew (Nate Corddry) and Emily (Gayle Rankin) were targeted for a $100,000 ransom. After meeting with Herman Baggerly (Robert Patrick), a millionaire elder at the Dodsons’ church, Perry, E.B., and E.B.’s legal secretary Della Street (Juliet Rylance) ponder why a family of unmistakably modest means would be extorted for such a steep price.

Written by Rolin Jones & Ron Fitzgerald; directed by Tim Van Patten.

Episode 2: “Chapter Two”

Debut date: Sunday, June 28 (9:00-10:00PM ET/PT)

Following one of her trademark barn-burning sermons, Evangelical preacher Sister Alice (Tatiana Maslany) offers the Dodsons the church’s full moral and financial support – much to her mother Birdy’s (Lili Taylor) dismay. During a routine domestic intervention, beat cop Paul Drake (Chris Chalk) is rerouted to a gruesome crime scene, where he follows a confounding trail of evidence. Mason (Matthew Rhys) is left incensed by a jaw-dropping admission from Baggerly (Robert Patrick) and, after pressing Emily (Gayle Rankin) on her husband’s alibi, finds himself confronted by an outraged Della (Juliet Rylance). Detectives Holcomb (Eric Lange) and Ennis (Andrew Howard) use Drake’s (Chris Chalk) findings to their own advantage.

Written by Rolin Jones & Ron Fitzgerald; directed by Tim Van Patten.

Episode 3: “Chapter Three”

Debut date: Sunday, July 5 (9:00-10:00PM ET/PT)

In order to gain an advantage over E.B. and team, wily district attorney Maynard Barnes (Stephen Root) goes public with a shocking new develoPMent. Mason (Matthew Rhys) and Strickland (Shea Whigham) get unauthorized access to physical evidence with help from Virgil (Jefferson Mays), Mason’s connect at the city morgue. Later, Mason attempts to extract information from a withholding Drake (Chris Chalk), who’s weary of Holcomb (Eric Lange) and Ennis’ (Andrew Howard) watchful eyes. Della (Juliet Rylance) notices a change in E.B. (John Lithgow), who seems uncharacteristically out of sorts.

Written by Rolin Jones & Ron Fitzgerald; directed by Tim Van Patten.

Episode 4: “Chapter Four”

Debut date: Sunday, July 12 (9:00-10:00PM ET/PT)

Mason (Matthew Rhys) and Strickland (Shea Whigham) lean on Virgil (Jefferson Mays), again, for extra-legal assistance. Following Sister Alice’s (Tatiana Maslany) recovery from a frightening episode, Birdy (Lili Taylor) urges her daughter to renounce her claims about baby Charlie. E.B. (John Lithgow) faces the reality of his financial situation and takes his frustrations out on Della (Juliet Rylance).

Written by Steven Hanna & Sarah Kelly Kaplan; directed by Deniz Gamze Erg?ven.

Executive producers (in alphabetical order), Amanda Burrell, Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, Ron Fitzgerald, Joe Horacek, Rolin Jones, and Timothy Van Patten (who also directs); co-executive producer: Aida Rodgers; producer: Matthew Rhys; created by Rolin Jones & Ron Fitzgerald; based on the characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner.