The limited series starring Matthew Rhys has been picked up by HBO.
The Americans alum will star in the titular role in the Tim Van Patten-helmed series. Van Patten, whose credits include Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos is on board to direct and executive produce.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the project has been in development for a while, first as a feature film, then as a series. Back in 2016 True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto was attached to write, but then when Pizzolatto exited the project and was replaced with Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald as writers and showrunners.
The series is based on the Erle Stanley Gardner novels but will focus on Mason’s origin story. It will follow Mason who’s living check-to-check as a low-rent private investigator, haunted by his wartime experiences and suffering the effects of a broken marriage. But when a child is kidnapped, his pursuit of the truth may offer him a shot at redemption.
The original Perry Mason series aired from 1957-66 on CBS, and starred Raymond Burr.
