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Welcome To The Party Pal: The Mind-Bending Film & Television Podcast You Didn't Know You Needed!

Episode 59: Perry Mason

In this episode of Welcome To The Party Pal, hosts Michael Shields and Justin Wells focus their aim at the period drama television show Perry Mason, based on the character of the same name created by Erle Stanley Gardner. The series premiered in June on HBO and was developed and written by Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald. Starring Matthew Rhys in the title role, Perry Mason explores the origin tale of the famed defense lawyer. As the story goes, in 1932, Los Angeles was prospering while the rest of the U.S. was recovering from the grip of the Great Depression. Down-and-out private investigator Perry Mason is struggling with his trauma from World War I and from his recent divorce. Mason is hired for a sensational child kidnapping trial and his investigation portends major consequences for Mason, his client, and the city itself. Besides Rhys (The Americans), Perry Mason also stars Juliet Rylance, John Lithgow, Shea Whigham, Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black), Chris Chalk, and Stephen Root. It is directed and executive produced by Tim Van Patten (Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire) and Robert Downey Jr. is also an Executive Producer. In this episode, Michael and Justin discuss the remarkable cast of Perry Mason, celebrate the noir aesthetic present in the series, dissect the abstruse case at the heart of the season, and talk about outlandish QAnon conspiracies….maybe a bit too much!

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