Robert Downey Jr. And ‘True Detective’ Creator Nic Pizzolatto Teaming For ‘Perry Mason’ HBO Series
It remains unclear whetherTrue Detectivewill return for a third season, following a critically acclaimed first season and a widely panned second one. But in the meantime, it looks like creatorNic Pizzolattowill have a different HBO project to keep him busy. He andRobert Downey Jr.are in talks for a drama series at HBO that’s probably a reworked version of thePerry Masonmovie that Downey has been trying to get off the ground for a while.
Varietyreports Pizzolatto is attached to write and Downey is attached to lead the unnamed HBO drama project. Both will additionally produce, alongsideJoe HoracekandSusan Downey. Confirmed details are scarce, but the trade’s sources say the new series is based on Downey’s long-gestatingPerry Masonfeature film. According toDeadline, the HBO drama will have shorter seasons (a laTrue Detective, which has had 8 episodes per season), with future seasons depending on Downey’s availability.
The Perry Mason character first appeared in the 1930s, in a series of novels Erle Stanley Gardner, but is probably best remembered as the lead character of thePerry MasonTV series that aired on CBS from 1957 to 1966 and starred Raymond Burr as the criminal defense lawyer. Other key characters include Perry’s secretary Della Street, private detective Paul Drake, and district attorney Hamilton Burger.
Downey has been working on aPerry Masonmovie since about 2011, when he first set up the project at Warner Bros. ThePerry Masonfeature never got very far, and so Team Downey decided to shift gears and try again on the small screen. The big-screen version of the project was to be a period piece set in 1930s Los Angeles, but it’s unclear whether the HBO TV series will keep that retro setting. ThePerry MasonHBO series will be Downey’s first regular TV role sinceAlly McBealin the early 2000s.
While HBO has yet to announce a third season ofTrue Detective, the premium cable network has made it clear they’d like to stay in business with Pizzolatto, signing him for an overall deal that keeps him in their stable through 2018. Pizzolatto’s other screen credits include episodes of AMC’sThe Killingand the screenplay for Antoine Fuqua’s upcomingThe Magnificent Sevenremake.
Downey has spent most of the past few years playing Iron Man in the Marvel movies, returning earlier this year forCaptain America: Civil War. He’ll reprise the role again in next year’sSpider-Man: Homecoming. His recent non-superhero roles include theSherlock Holmesfranchise and another lawyer drama,The Judge.
