‘Perry Mason’ Season 2: Meet the New Cast & Characters of Depression-Era Legal Drama (PHOTOS)
Perry Mason makes its return to HBO on Monday, March 6. Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Perry Mason Season 2 brings back Emmy-winner Matthew Rhys in the titular role along with Juliet Rylance, Chris Chalk, and more.
“Months after the Dodson case has come to an end, the scion of a powerful oil family is brutally murdered,” says the season logline. “When the DA goes to the city’s Hoovervilles to pinpoint the most obvious of suspects, Perry, Della, and Paul find themselves at the center of a case that will uncover far reaching conspiracies and force them to reckon with what it truly means to be guilty.”
The series is set in 1933 Los Angeles. In the new installments (totaling eight episodes), Perry has moved off the farm, ditched his milk truck, and he and Della have worked to keep the firm financially stable during the worst year of the Depression (per Deadline). That includes taking on more civil cases instead of the taxing criminal, but Paul finds himself less busy than he’d like in the realm of wills and contracts. He’s out seeking more challenges, and then the open-and-closed case will take over the city.
Merrick Morton/HBO
Joining Rhys’ Perry, Rylance’s Della, and Chalk’s Paul in Season 2 are Diarra Kilpatrick (bumped to series regular), Eric Lange, Justin Kirk, Katherine Waterston, Hope Davis, Fabrizio Guido, Peter Mendoza, Mark O’Brien, Paul Raci, Jen Tullock, Jon Chaffin, Onahoua Rodriguez, Jee Young Han, Sean Astin, Tommy Dewey, Shea Whigham, Wallace Langham, and Jack Eyman. Davis, Guido, Mendoza, Rodriguez, and Young Han will appear in new recurring roles, and Waterston joins Season 2 as a new series regular.
Kilpatrick’s Clara (Paul’s wife) is caring for her new baby in Season 2 and has moved in with her brother’s family to help matters. Chaffin plays Clara’s brother, Morris. Davis plays Camille Nygaard, an exemplary and elegant business leader who becomes a companion for Della. Young Han plays Marion Kang, Perry’s new secretary. And Langham plays Melville Phipps, a lawyer for an oil baroness. per Collider.
Astin will play Sunny Gryce, a new client of Perry and Della’s. Sunny is said to be the embodiment of the American Dream and a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield that is dueling supermarkets in town.
As for Dewey, he plays Brooks McCutcheon, the scion of the wealthiest oil family in Los Angeles. While charming and eager to prove himself, Brooks questions whether he has the talent to achieve the same level of success as his father. Based on the Season 2 synopsis, it seems things are looking grim for Dewey’s Brooks.
Learn more about the returning and new characters in the Perry Mason Season 2 gallery, below.
Perry Mason, Season 2 Premiere, Monday, March 6, 10/9c, HBO, Streaming on HBO Max
Matthew Rhys as Perry Mason
The detective turned defense attorney will face new challenges in Season 2.
Matthew Rhys as Perry Mason, Chris Chalk as Paul Drake & Juliet Rylance as Della Street
What trouble will the pursuit of justice get this trio into?
Matthew Rhys as Perry Mason
Can he handle another murder trial after last season’s difficult mistrial?
Juliet Rylance as Della Street
Rylance returns as Perry’s trusted colleague. In Season 1, viewers knew her as E.B. Jonathan’s legal secretary. She has the brains, know-how, creativity, and drive to be a CEO at any modern-day corporation. But this is the 1930s.
Chris Chalk as Paul Drake
A beat cop with a knack for detective work, Chalk’s Paul is an outlier, with the added challenge of having to navigate an extremely race-conscious city and a downright oppressive police department. He must weigh the responsibilities of being a husband and father against his desire to seek justice.
Jen Tullock as Anita St. Pierre
Pictured with Rylance as Della. Anita is a successful, stylish, confident, self-made screenwriter who will show Della a side of life and love she’s been missing.
Jen Tullock as Anita St. Pierre
Tullock is one of the many new additions to the Season 2 cast.
Sean Astin as Sunny Gryce
Gryce is a big player in the dueling supermarkets of Los Angeles. Why will he need representation from Perry and Della?
Justin Kirk as Hamilton Burger
Pictured with Rylance’s Della, Kirk is a returning star from Season 1.
Tommy Dewey as Brooks McCutcheon
Despite his charm and eagerness to please, Brooks doubts he’s up for the task of matching his father’s success.
Paul Raci as Lydell McCutcheon
Lydell is a rich power player in L.A. who passed his empire to his son, Brooks, but his ambition, he may not be equipped to take the reins.
Paul Raci & Tommy Dewey as Lydell & Brooks McCutcheon
The father-son duo will be major parts of Season 2.
Tommy Dewey as Brooks McCutcheon
Brooks speaks among the crowd at a McCutcheon soup kitchen.
Peter Mendoza as Mateo Gallardo & Fabrizio Guido as Rafael Gallardo
Rafael is a troubled artist. He and brother Mateo face execution for a murder they didn’t commit. Pictured with Rylance and Rhys, it seems Perry and Della will be helping the brothers with their legal battle.Rodriguez plays Luisa Gallardo, Rafael and Mateo’s aunt. She gets Perry and Della to help her family.
Katherine Waterston as Ginny Aimes
Ginny is a school teacher whose optimism is emblematic of the demeanor that got people through the hardest years of L.A.’s Depression. She’s teacher to Perry’s child, Teddy, and her outlook rubs off on both of them.
Justin Kirk as Hamilton Burger & Mark O'Brien as Thomas Milligan
Hamilton is the Assistant District Attorney, and Thomas is an ambitious Deputy District Attorney. He’s described as “an aggressive attack dog in court as he strives to make his mark and ascend to greater heights, no matter whose blood he has to spill to get there,” per Deadline.
Fighters in the Ring
Great Depression Era entertainment.
Juliet Rylance as Della Street & Justin Kirk as Hamilton Burger
They’re dolled up for a special occasion.
Paul Raci as Lydell McCutcheon & Matthew Rhys as Perry Mason
Could Perry be investigating the murder of Lydell’s son, Brooks?
Jack Eyman & Matthew Rhys
It seems Eyman could be playing Teddy Mason in Season 2.
Chris Chalk, Matthew Rhys & Juliet Rylance
The trio seems deep into their research.
Katherine Waterston as Ginny Aimes
Ginny may change both Teddy and Perry’s lives for the better.
