Plot Synopsis

Based on characters created by author Erle Stanley Gardner, this drama series follows the origins of American fiction's most legendary criminal defense lawyer, Perry Mason, who is 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. It's 1931 in Los Angeles, and while the rest of the country struggles through the Great Depression, this city is booming. And a child kidnapping gone very, very wrong. 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. Other characters in this series include: Elias Birchard 'E.B.' Jonathan, a struggling attorney and a semi-regular employer of Mason; Della Street, E.B. Jonathan's creative and driven legal secretary; Sister Alice McKeegan, the leader of the Radiant Assembly of God, preaching to a hungry congregation and a radio audience across the country; Paul Drake, a beat cop with a knack for detective work; Pete Strickland, who is hired by Mason as an extra set of eyes on his various investigations; and more.
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On Sunday, August 9, 2020 at 9pm ET/PT, HBO premiered "Chapter Eight," the Season 1 finale of PERRY MASON. After the team receives some unvarnished critique from Hamilton Burger (guest star Justin Kirk), Della presents an increasingly stubborn Mason with her case for putting Emily on the stand. As the sensational trial winds to a close, Mason, Strickland, Della, and Drake attempt to tie up loose ends -- and set the stage for their futures. Written by Rolin Jones & Ron Fitzgerald & Kevin J. Hynes; directed by Tim Van Patten.

Two-and-a-half weeks earlier -- on Wednesday, July 22 -- HBO renewed PERRY MASON for a second season.