TV

Perry Mason

A peak TV noir with plenty of fedoras, palm trees, and shallow graves

    WATCH NOW ON
  • Max
Photo: Vulture; Photo: Warner Brothers

The second season of Perry Mason is a testament to how satisfying it is when a second season successfully reshapes the raw materials of a promising but imperfect first season. Perry Mason’s season two, does this in some minor ways (Shea Whigham’s investigator character, Paul Strickland, has a better-defined emotional arc) and in some much more significant ones (a noir-style mystery that’s a better fit for the show’s “dark side of L.A.” vibe.) The clearest and most obvious improvement on the first season, though, is also the simplest. Perry Mason — the HBO show, but also the original TV series and the radio serial before it — is a story about a defense attorney. Wouldn’t you know it: Perry Mason gets a lot better when the man spends a lot of time in a courtroom! — Kathryn VanArendonk, “Perry Mason Has Solved the Case of Perry Mason”

  1. Episode 16 Chapter Sixteen
    Perry Mason Season-Finale Recap: See You Around … The Mason crew gets an unconventional win in the face of a corrupt system. It’s far from perfect, but it will have to do for now.
  2. Episode 7 Chapter Fifteen
    Perry Mason Recap: Today’s Newspaper Wraps Tomorrow’s Fish We finally know who our big baddie is as Perry Mason reveals the big picture in the season’s penultimate episode.
  3. Episode 6 Chapter Fourteen
    Perry Mason Recap: Putting the City on Edge An unlikely ally and a secret foe bring some serious heat to the case.
  4. Episode 5 Chapter Thirteen
    Perry Mason Recap: Putting The City On Edge The trial just started and it’s already back to the drawing board for Mason, Street, and Drake.
  5. Episode 4 Chapter Twelve
    Perry Mason Recap: Living a Life of Illusion Mason & Co. find themselves in a tight spot as stories keep changing and the plot thickens.
  6. Episode 3 Chapter Eleven
    Perry Mason Recap: We’ve Always Been From Here As the case heats up, Mason finds a literal smoking gun.
  7. Episode 2 Chapter Ten
    Perry Mason Recap: The Illusion of Vengeance Now that Mason’s a full-fledged lawyer, it’s a real treat when he gets back in his seedy PI bag.
  8. Episode 1 Chapter Nine
    Perry Mason Season-Premiere Recap: The Illusion of Justice Perry Mason gets his Saul Goodman on and finds himself on the “right” side of the law and the wrong side of justice.

The Latest on HBO

  1. trailer mix
    The Bene Gesserit Are Girlbossing to PowerDune: Prophecy, HBO’s prequel series, has an official trailer out of NYCC.
    By Zoe Guy
  2. nycc 2024
    Dune: Prophecy Exists in a Universe Where AI Is IllegalSpicy new details from day one of New York Comic Con.
    By Eric Francisco
  3. tv review
    The Franchise Isn’t Super Satire, But It Is a Fun HangVeep’s Armando Iannucci sends up superhero fatigue with a workplace comedy that thrives when it’s not succumbing to cynicism.
    By Jackson McHenry
  4. do it in dc
    Make Girls SuperpoweredSome suggestions for HBO’s upcoming slate.
    By Vulture Staff
  5. tv review
    Who Needs the Batman?As The Penguin’s representatives of Gotham’s underworld, Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti can do bad all by themselves.
    By Roxana Hadadi
  6. emmys 2024
    How The Bear Lost the Best Comedy Emmy to HacksTo start, it wasn’t a comedy.
    By Joe Reid
  7. nikki beach or bust
    Everything on Industry Was Building Toward ThisMarisa Abela, Myha’la, and the showrunners break down Yasmin and Harper’s biggest fight: “We were like, ‘How do we make this as hurtful as possible?’”
    By Jackson McHenry
  8. battle of the bats
    Is The Penguin Better Than Joker: Folie à Deux?Critics seem to think so.
    By Alejandra Gularte
  9. docu-ethics
    American Freak ShowChimp Crazy and Tiger King director Eric Goode doesn’t seem to care that his nonfiction work doubles as exploitation. Should we?
    By Nicholas Quah
  10. endings
    The Double Dishonesty of Chimp CrazyThe docuseries focuses on the lengths one woman will go to keep her pet chimp but fails to acknowledge the ethical mire behind the camera.
    By Jen Chaney
Load More

More Shows You May Like

  1. Ballers
  2. Big Little Lies
  3. Camping
  4. Divorce
  5. Full Circle