Honestly, the way HBO handled Perry Mason Series 2 still stings. You’ve got Matthew Rhys at the top of his game, a budget that clearly didn't skimp on the 1930s grime, and a story that actually had something to say about the "haves" and "have-nots." Then, silence.
The show was cancelled in June 2023, just months after the second season finale aired. It wasn't because it was bad—far from it. Critics actually liked the second outing more than the first, giving it an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes compared to the debut's 75%.
But the numbers didn't lie. Viewership for the premiere of the second season dropped significantly compared to the 2020 debut. It basically fell victim to a three-year gap between seasons and a lack of marketing muscle from the newly merged Warner Bros. Discovery.
The Case That Defined the Season
Season 2 kicks off in 1933, the absolute pits of the Great Depression. Perry has moved on from the Dodson case, but he’s basically an "imposter syndrome" poster child. He’s wearing a nice suit and has his name on the door with Della Street, but he's mostly doing civil work—stealing grocery store secrets for a guy named Sunny Gryce (played by a very fun Sean Astin).
Then comes the murder of Brooks McCutcheon.
Brooks was the failson of a massive oil tycoon, Lydell McCutcheon (Paul Raci). When Brooks is found dead, the LAPD does what it does best: they find the easiest targets. They pin it on two Mexican-American brothers, Mateo and Rafael Gallardo.
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This isn't just a "whodunit." It's a "why'd they do it."
The Gallardos weren't just random thugs. Their family had been crushed by the McCutcheon empire. Their sister was killed because of an empty stadium project. Their home was stolen. As the season unfolds, we realize the "victim," Brooks, was actually a pretty terrible guy who was burning down gambling ships for insurance money because he couldn't live up to his father's shadow.
Real History vs. Fiction
While the Gallardos are fictional, the show pulled a lot of inspiration from the Greystone Mansion murders of 1928. In real life, Ned Doheny (son of oil tycoon Edward Doheny) was found dead alongside his assistant, Hugh Plunkett. The case was closed almost immediately as a murder-suicide, but the rumors of conspiracies and cover-ups persisted for decades.
The show’s creators, Jack Amiel and Michael Begler, used that "untouchable oil family" vibe to ground the series in a very real, very ugly version of Los Angeles history. They even brought in historical consultants William Deverell and Elizabeth Logan to make sure the "Hoovervilles" and the racial tensions felt authentic. It wasn't just window dressing; it was the point of the show.
Why it Worked (and Why it Didn't)
Matthew Rhys is incredible. He plays Perry not as a confident legal eagle, but as a guy who is genuinely terrified he’s going to mess up and get someone killed. Again. He’s still haunted by Emily Dodson’s fate from the first season.
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Della Street (Juliet Rylance) and Paul Drake (Chris Chalk) also got much more room to breathe. Della is navigating a secret life with a screenwriter named Anita St. Pierre, while Paul is struggling with the reality of being a Black investigator in a city that treats him like a second-class citizen even when he’s the smartest guy in the room.
The pacing was tighter than Season 1. The noir atmosphere was thick enough to choke on.
But there were problems.
- The Gap: Waiting three years for a second season is a death sentence for most shows.
- The Competition: HBO aired it alongside Succession and Barry. It just got drowned out.
- The Budget: Period dramas are expensive. Building 1933 Los Angeles with CGI and practical sets costs a fortune. If the audience isn't massive, the accountants start looking for the "delete" key.
That Ending Though...
The finale of Perry Mason Series 2 didn't end with a "gotcha" confession on the stand. It ended with a plea deal. Perry realizes that the Gallardos did actually kill Brooks, but only because Brooks had systematically destroyed their lives.
To save the brothers from the gallows, Perry does something very "un-lawyerly." He hides the murder weapon. He eventually comes clean to the DA, Hamilton Burger, but only after securing a deal for his clients.
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The series ends with Perry Mason entering a four-month prison sentence. He takes the fall for his team. It’s a bittersweet, cynical, and yet weirdly hopeful ending. He finally found something worth losing for.
What You Should Do Now
If you haven't seen it, go watch it on Max. Even though it’s cancelled, the two seasons work as a complete arc. It’s a masterclass in production design and character acting.
If you're looking for more after you finish, check out the original Erle Stanley Gardner novels. They are much more "case of the week" and less "existential dread," but they show you where the DNA of the character started. Or, dive into The Knick, which was run by the same guys who did Mason's second season. It has that same gritty, historical surgical precision.
Don't wait for a Season 3—it's not coming. But appreciate the sixteen hours of high-tier television we actually got.
Practical Next Steps:
- Stream both seasons on Max before licensing deals potentially move it elsewhere.
- Look up the Teapot Dome Scandal to see the real-world corruption that inspired the McCutcheon family arc.
- Follow Team Downey (Robert Downey Jr.'s production company) for news on their upcoming HBO projects, as they confirmed they are still working with the network despite the cancellation.