Perry Mason Season 3 Return Potential Addressed By HBO Star After Cancellation
Chris Chalk shares a new comment on a prospective Perry Mason season 3.
Created by Ron Fitzgerald and Rolin Jones, the HBO crime drama reimagines the character first created by Erle Stanley Gardner, with Matthew Rhys taking on the titular role. After its debut outing in 2020, Perry Mason returned for season 2 in spring 2023, but HBO elected to cancel the show in June.
During a recent appearance at Monster Mania 67 (via Halloween Year-Round), Chalk, who starred in the show as Paul Drake, addresses Perry Mason potentially returning for season 3. Though Chalk doesn't have any inside info regarding more episodes of the show moving forward, he expresses his fondness for the adaptation and his willingness to return should the show ever come back. Check out his comment below:
Oh, girl. I would love another season. Perry Mason is a great show, man. It's simple. It's easy. It's 1932 LA, but told through the lens of like an actual America. So like the old school Perry Mason, it was just all white people, which is not LA 1930s at all. And this one really did embrace like the entire community of what was going on in LA at the time. It's a great show.
Perry Mason was generally well received throughout its two-season run. On Rotten Tomatoes, season 1 enjoys a 75% critics' score, while season 2 has an even stronger 85%. Rhys' take on the defense attorney was cited as a highlight, and the series was praised for its stylish recreation of 1930s Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, the strong critical reception didn't translate into viewership success. There was a three-year gap between seasons 1 and 2 due in part to behind-the-scenes changes, including a showrunner swap. The long wait contributed to the sophomore outing experiencing a substantial drop in viewership.
Perry Mason's high budget likely also factored into the cancellation decision. Season 1 is reported to have had a budget of $74.3 million.
Evidently, the viewership decline was significant enough that HBO deemed the show unable to recover with a season 3. The Perry Mason season 2 ending wasn't intended to serve as a series finale, so it left some story threads open for further exploration, including seeing Perry himself behind bars.
It seems unlikely that Perry Mason will actually return given it has now been three years since the show was cancelled, but Rhys and Chalk have both gone on to find more successful projects in the TV landscape. Chalk recently appeared as Dick Hallorann in HBO's It: Welcome to Derry, and the Stephen King-inspired show is now confirmed to return for season 2.
Rhys, meanwhile, recently made a major splash with Widow's Bay on Apple TV. The comedy horror show was critically acclaimed and became a viewership success for the streamer. Widow's Bay season 2 has also received an official green light.
Though HBO has moved on from Perry Mason, it's clear that, for Chalk, the show remains a career bright spot due to its unique portrayal of LA in the 1930s. While there have been no concrete developments regarding the show's return for season 3, Chalk would seemingly be among the first to return if the series ever does come back.