According to Deadline, HBO has made the decision not to renew their noir thriller series, Perry Mason, for a third season. The series finale of the second season aired just a month and a half ago.
Perry Mason is the prequel to the classic series of the same name. The first season follows Perry, played by Matthew Rhys (Cocaine Bear, The Americans) as he investigates the kidnapping of a young boy as a private investigator. In the second season, Perry works as a lawyer to protect the defendant from an open-and-closed case.
In a statement to Deadline, HBO said, “We are tremendously grateful for the remarkable work of Matthew Rhys and the unrivaled cast and crew of Perry Mason for their reimagining of such a treasured and storied franchise. While we won’t be moving forward with another season of the series, we are excited to continue working with the brilliant creatives at Team Downey on future projects.”
Perry Mason is produced by Team Downey which consists of Susan Downey and Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man, Tropic Thunder). Before the season 2 finale aired, Downey Jr. discussed the possibility of a third season. “I mean wouldn’t that be nice?” he said to Deadline. “I think that Matthew and all the other people populating it in front of the screen, all our people behind the scenes, have built this incredible world that I know we could continue to tell really interesting stories about. We would be lying if we didn’t say we’ve certainly been talking to Michael a ton about a third season, but our fate rests in the hands of others.”
Francesca Orsi, HBO’s head of drama, spoke to Deadline about how the viewership and ratings affect the continuation of a series and mentioned Perry Mason. “Each show has a job to do, given the price tag that we give to it, and there’s a viewership component, and there’s a critical response element to it and of course, the buzz nature of a show,” she said. “It’s those elements that we are always keeping in mind and discussing relative to whether or not a show will continue. That factors in for Perry Mason, for Winning Time, for instance, for Gilded Age, so we have to play everything out and see how well they do.”
Team Downey also has a number of other projects with HBO, including The Sympathizer, starring Robert Downey Jr.