HBO sentences Perry Mason reboot to death after two seasons

HBO has gone and done it again. After two seasons, the premium cable service canceled its reboot of Perry Mason, which just concluded its brilliant second season in April. Ever the magnanimous TV show murderer, HBO released a statement to Deadline about Mason's untimely end.

"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," HBO said. "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."

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We get that HBO or Max or whatever this network's name is (maybe Discovery+?) would love to work with Team Downey again, but might we suggest working with Team Downey on a third season of Perry Mason? We didn't think that was going to work either.

Based on the novels by Erle Stanely Gardner, HBO's latest iteration of Mason delivered a gorgeously designed and produced 1930s Los Angeles, with the characters’ attitudes and challenges updated for a modern audience. It did so particularly well in its second season, offering audiences a brilliantly acted and written mystery that continued to surprise as its meaning and relevance deepened.

Previously, star Matthew Rhys told GQ that should the "HBO gods" grant every child's dream of another batch of Perry Masons, he has some ideas for keeping it fresh.

"My greatest concern is that we don't fall into anything formulaic or procedural, because if you do, I think we’re kind of dead," Rhys said. "I love that we 180-ed from the end of season one to season two. He's not the slick lawyer you were expecting him to be. He's deeply, deeply enmeshed with this kind of imposter syndrome, riddled with self-doubt and anxiety, loathing of the judicial system itself. So whatever it is, I just hope that it's just not something we’re expecting at the beginning of season three. I’ll put pressure on the writers."

Since the writers are on strike, we have to assume Rhys never had to put the squeeze on his writers. Nevertheless, those writers can consider themselves off the hook, leaving us Perry Mason fans to dream of a world where Shea Whigham's Pete Strickland and Rhys’ Mason are drinking beers and engaging in fisticuffs.

As of this reporting, Perry Mason is still available to stream on Max.

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HBO sentences Perry Mason reboot to death after two seasons