Matthew Rhys to Star in HBO Limited Series PERRY MASON

Matthew Rhys will star in the title role of the HBO limited series Perry Mason from Team Downey, according to Deadline. The reboot will track the unorthodox investigator/defense attorney's origin story. The limited series is currently in the process of hiring a director.

The reimagined Perry Mason is set in 1932 Los Angeles. While the rest of the country recovers from the Great Depression, this city is booming! Oil! Olympic Games! Talking Pictures! Evangelical Fervor! And a child kidnapping gone very, very wrong! Based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner, the limited series follows the origins of American Fiction's most legendary criminal defense lawyer, Perry Mason (Rhys). When the case of the decade breaks down his door, Mason's RELENTLESS PURSUIT of the truth reveals a fractured city and just maybe, a pathway to redemption for himself.

Rhys is Perry Mason at a time in his life when he is living check-to-check as a low-rent private investigator. Mason is haunted by his wartime experiences in France and is suffering the effects of a broken marriage.

The series will be written and executive produced by Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald, who also will showrun. Rhys will also produce, in addition to starring.

Robert and Susan Downey developed the project and will executive produce along with Team Downey's Amanda Burrell, and Joe Horaceck.

Rhys is an Emmy, Golden Globe and Critics' Choice award winner for his portrayal of Philip Jennings on critically acclaimed FX drama series The Americans which recently wrapped its sixth and final season.

Read the original article on Deadline.