After 'Widow's Bay,' Matthew Rhys' 2-Part Crime Thriller Saga Officially Deserves To Be Revisited

4 days ago 14

Perry Mason on the street looking to the distance.

Published Oct 18, 2026, 1:58 PM EDT

Erin Konrad's love for everything entertainment dates back to elementary school when she became obsessed with classic Hollywood musicals. When she's not catching up on all her favorite television shows, she's advising her friends and family on what they should binge watch next.

She has her Bachelor's degree in Journalism and a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Creating content for Collider gives her the opportunity to combine her writing skills with her passion for television and movies. She spends her free time trying to beat her personal record of reading 137 books in a year and cuddling with her dog, Gracie.

Matthew Rhys has long been one of Hollywood's most compelling actors. After career-defining performances in Brothers & Sisters and The Americans, Rhys has continued to work steadily. At this year's Emmys, Rhys set a new record, becoming the first to win two Lead Actor awards in one night, for his work in Netflix's The Beast in Me and Apple TV's runaway hit, Widow's Bay. But there's actually one overlooked thriller series that also showcases Rhys' immense talent, and it still deserves to be binged.

What Is 'Perry Mason' About?

Perry Mason, which aired on HBO from 2020 to 2023, shares the same name as the 1950s legal drama, but is a far cry from that famous series. In this version, Perry Mason (Rhys) is a hardened private investigator working in Los Angeles in the early 1930s. The city is slowly recovering from the Great Depression, but most people are still struggling to get by. In Season 1, Perry is nowhere near becoming a renowned lawyer. When the series starts, he's been assigned a complicated case by his friend and mentor, E.B. Jonathan (John Lithgow). A baby boy named Charlie has been kidnapped and murdered, and the City of Angels is now obsessed with the crime (which evokes the real-life Lindbergh baby tragedy).

Perry gets drawn deeper and deeper into a world of secrets and lies as he investigates the crime. He is assisted by E.B.'s loyal secretary, Della Street (Juliet Rylance), as well as a beat cop named Paul Drake (Chris Chalk), who is also entrenched in the city's underbelly. Perry doesn't know who to trust, as an enigmatic preacher named Sister Alice McKeegan (Tatiana Maslany), who seems modeled after Aimee Semple McPherson, stirs up an even bigger frenzy surrounding Charlie's murder.

'Perry Mason' Enthralls With Dark Storylines and an Incredible Cast

From its very first scene, Perry Mason hooks you with an eerie, intriguing world. The mysteries in both seasons are completely compelling and provide a whodunnit framework that will keep you guessing. There are plenty of untrustworthy characters, including Perry himself, who seems broken from his experiences as a soldier in World War I. He's a morally ambiguous protagonist, but because he's fighting for justice and the truth, he's still someone that's easy to root for. Perry Mason also sets itself apart from other dramas because of its authentic historical setting. The impressive attention to detail creates an even more fascinating environment for the macabre and ominous story to play out, and this era of Los Angeles' history makes the structure feel inherently unique.

Rhys is obviously the main draw for watching this series. His portrayal of Perry Mason is instantly iconic, between the character's trademark fedora hat and gravelly voice, and when the character starts his legal journey in Season 2, he pulls off the transition with even more gravitas. It's certainly a far cry from his role as Tom Loftis in Widow's Bay. Alongside Rhys, Rylance and Chalk perfectly nail the mannerisms that reflect the show's tone. Gayle Rankin is fantastic as Charlie's grieving mother, and Maslany plays a twisty, complex character in Sister Alice. Shea Whigham, Lili Taylor, Hope Davis, and Rhys' Widow's Bay co-star, Stephen Root, all deliver fascinating performances.

Perry Mason received six Emmy nominations, including nods for Rhys and Lithgow, during its run, but was still cancelled after just two seasons. HBO pointed to a long gap between seasons due to COVID-19 and high production costs as reasons the series wouldn't continue. Although it's disappointing that Rhys wasn't afforded more time in the role, it did free him up to take on his recent Emmy-winning projects. Consisting of two short seasons, Perry Mason is the perfect series to binge if you're looking to get drawn into a dark and mysterious world, or if you just want to watch Rhys in yet another one of his stellar performances.