Perry Mason wraps up its first season on HBO this August, but the show is coming back for season 2. Showrunners Ron Fitzgerald and Rolin Jones said they definitely have plenty to cover next season.
The show is an adaptation of the bestselling novels from author Erle Stanley Gardner. It has been done as a TV series in different instances from the 1950s to the 1990s. This new Perry Mason, however, charts the origin of the character before he became a top lawyer in Los Angeles.
In an interview with Collider, the showrunners said that they have 87 novels to mine for the stories. Gardner’s books remain bestsellers even today, alongside the Harry Potter series.
“There is plenty of future out there for Perry Mason, should the gods of HBO financing be so inclined to give us that opportunity,” Jones said. “I think we’re just scratching the surface with a lot of stuff.”
Expanding the dynamics of Della, Paul, and Perry
Fitzgerald hinted that Perry Mason season 2 would be expanding the dynamics of Della (Juliet Rylance), Paul (Chris Chalk), and Perry (Matthew Rhys). The showrunner said that the first season just rounded up the “super friends.”
“I assume, with all sorts of workplace beginnings, there will be tensions. You’ve got to figure some stuff out when you’re all suddenly sharing space and sharing cases together,” Fitzgerald said.
Coming up with a story set in the 1930s proved to be a “dreamy” and “fabulous” challenge for the showrunners. They like the idea of a non-existent digital technology, where investigators like Perry really do the legwork.
“I loved not having to have a computer anywhere in it,” Jones said.
Return to production
It’s unclear when Perry Mason season 2 will start production, but the wait should be worth it. Viewers can expect more of Perry in the courtroom as he gained his license to practice in the sixth episode of season 1.
Perry Mason season 2 will likely remain a serialized show instead of a procedural. The showrunners said that they have no interest in pursuing this type of storytelling from the beginning since it has been done before.
Della and Paul’s story development for the next season shows promise as well. Paul, as a Black man in the LAPD, and Della, who is an LGBTQ character, will face hurdles as times social consciousness was different in the 1930s.
“There’s always a need for Perry Mason, and at this particular time, someone standing up for people who don’t have a voice feels like it might be the perfect thing,” the showrunners said.
Image used courtesy of HBO/YouTube