Posted in: HBO, Preview, TV | Tagged: bctv daily dispatch, HBO, Matthew Rhys, perry mason, preview, season 2

Perry Mason: Matthew Rhys Says Season 2 Filming "Looking at Winter"

With HBO's award-winning, Matthew Rhys-starring Perry Mason lined up for a second season, viewers know that Eric Lange (Detective Holcomb) and Justin Kirk (Hamilton Berger) will be back as series regulars for the second season. Unfortunately, they also know that Tatiana Maslany's (She-Hulk, Orphan Black) Sister Alice will not be back, with her story arc (at least fr now) having wrapped during the premiere season. Now, Rhys is offering a few more details on the second season's themes and production- beginning with the reveal that filming is looking to kick off this winter after a slow build ("That's an ever-moving set of goalposts. It's been moving steadily like an iceberg for some time. And I think we're just basically looking at winter now") and that filming will be returning to Los Angeles ("We'll be back among the angels").

In the interview with Deadline Hollywood, Rhys explained how much he appreciated Mason's journey to becoming a lawyer and how it made sense for the character. "He doesn't become an attorney until Episode 5, Episode 6. By Episode 4 I was like, 'When is he going to become an attorney?' And then they made it a moment where he could not not become an attorney. He had to do it. And that's what I loved, that he was driven to it, because of something [unjust] that was done to him in the past and he couldn't sit back and see it done again," Rhys explained. "And so that moment, when they talked about it to me and they explained what happened in the First World War [to Mason], I was like, "Oh, that's great. It's so deep and resonant. That's amazing.'"

And while Rhys has yet to have that conversation with the writers about how his character is evolving this season, Rhys does have some thoughts. "I'm yet to be a party to the big conversation because I know they're busy working on it. It's kind of great because, at the end of Season 1, Perry begins an entirely new chapter in his life," Rhys revealed. "Yes, you are picking up where you left off, to a degree, but you're also beginning something completely new and different. Being the person he is, experiencing the judicial system and its obstacles, I think will be very interesting, hopefully."

HBO's Perry Mason also stars John Lithgow as Elias Birchard "E.B." Jonathan, a struggling attorney and a semi-regular employer of Mason; Juliet Rylance as Della Street, E.B. Jonathan's creative and driven legal secretary; Chris Chalk as Paul Drake, a beat cop with a knack for detective work; and Shea Whigham as Pete Strickland, who is hired by Mason as an extra set of eyes on his various investigations.

Lange's Detective Holcomb is a commanding force as a homicide detective within the LAPD, a master of intimidation with a knack for getting his way without regard for proper procedure. Kirk's Hamilton Berger is a future nemesis to Rhys's Perry Mason. Though not yet the district attorney, Berger is a rising lawyer in the DA's office who found himself surprisingly entangled in Mason's big case and became an unlikely friend to the man who will become his greatest foe. Maslany's Sister Alice McKeegan was the leader of the Radiant Assembly of God, preaching to a hungry congregation and a radio audience across the country.

Stephen Root, Gayle Rankin, Nate Corddry, Veronica Falcón, Jefferson Mays, Lili Taylor, Andrew Howard, and Robert Patrick also star. Executive producers include Amanda Burrell, Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, Ron Fitzgerald, Joe Horacek, Rolin Jones, and director Timothy Van Patten. Aida Rodgers co-executive produces, with Matthew Rhys producing. Created by Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald, the series is based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner.

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