I've written reviews for each season of this "Perry Mason" reboot but now that HBO have confirmed the cancellation, I thought I'd put something here too.
Up front, I don't really have any lasting affection for the original series - I'm aware of its existence, but for whatever reason never really watched it. I came to this pretty much solely on the basis that Matthew Rhys was in it, and in that regard I wasn't disappointed.
An investigator for an aging but high-profile attorney, Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys) takes pictures and does legwork with his colleague Pete Strickland (Shea Whigham). The team become embroiled in the case of a child abduction gone tragically wrong when, separately, both parents, Matthew Dodson (Nate Corddry) and then his wife Emily (Gayle Rankin) are accused of being involved. The case widens to involve officers within the LAPD and a profitable revival church, led by a charismatic pastor, Sister Alice McKeegan (Tatiana Maslany).
What's clear from the outside is that this is prestige TV. Away from the cast already mentioned, you can add Juliet Rylance, John Lithgow, Chris Chalk, Lily Taylor, Stephen Root, Robert Patrick, Jefferson Mays and a host of other recognisable names and faces. So, to say that the performances in the series are good, goes without saying. The period recreations are also excellent, with the series set in Los Angeles in the 1930's. The melancholy jazz music that drifts through the episodes, even down to little stylistic choices, like the way the title cards interact with the perspective of characters is very cool.
I felt it was rather slow moving until Mason takes over as lead attorney and the trial starts in earnest. I did OK with its relentlessly bleak tone, but I'd accept anyone's complaints that it was too much for them as being understandable. The second season retains the undoubted quality of the first, but does indeed focus more on the case, and the effect it has on Mason, than on the man himself.
I'm honestly disappointed that HBO has made this decision, particular as this second run seems to have found a better balance.
