History Series / PerryMason2020

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Brooks speaks of having built an MLB-caliber stadium in hopes of attracting a Major League Baseball team to LA. No such stadium was built in Los Angeles at this time. The main baseball park was Wrigley Field, which seated 21,000--too small for an MLB team even though the teams that played there sometimes outdrew MLB teams.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: In an early episode, E.B. looks at the jury and ruminates that he only needs to convince one of the jurors, while the prosecution needs all of them. In the end, [[spoiler:Mason bribes a juror to rule in his favor and effect a mistrial, though he actually convinced two more himself]].

* PatchedTogetherFromTheHeadlines: The first season arc -- Charlie Dodson's kidnapping and murder -- is partially based on multiple crimes of the era.
** The kidnapping and exchange of a child for profit, who turns out to be dead while the kidnappers disappear with the money, is taken from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Marion_Parker the 1927 abduction of Marion Parker]] and, to a lesser extent, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindbergh_kidnapping Charles Lindbergh Jr. in 1932]]. Like Marion, who was tossed from a moving car, Charlie's body is exchanged in a way (streetcar transfer) that helps aid their escape; similarly, like multiple theories about the Lindbergh baby's death, [[spoiler:his abductors killed him by accident and panicked]].
** Law enforcement's handling of the case is similar to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Collins the 1928 disappearance of Walter Collins Jr]]. The LAPD, searching for five months, failed to produce the boy (who was most likely killed); facing intense public scrutiny, they attempted to gaslight the mother into accepting a similar-looking child who said he was Walter, and then had her briefly committed to a mental institution when she wouldn't cooperate.[[note]]These events were dramatized in the Creator/ClintEastwood film ''Film/{{Changeling}}''.[[/note]] Here, they go even further, slut-shaming Sarah and accusing Matthew of masterminding the abduction himself in lieu of any evidence. [[spoiler:The "changeling" aspect comes with Sister Alice "resurrecting" Charlie; even though the second baby looks little like him, Emily accepts it because of how desperately she wants her son to be alive again.]]
** Sister Aimee Semple [=McPherson=], like Sister Alice, was also implicated in an abduction -- [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Aimee_Semple_McPherson her own]], which was alleged by the L.A. district attorney to be a publicity stunt, and was sensationalized by the press as a cover-up for a possible love affair or abortion. Though the charges were dropped due to lack of reliable witnesses for the prosecution, the scandal would permanently damage [=McPherson's=] public reputation.

* {{Blackmail}}: E.B. is blackmailed by prosecutor Maynard Barnes to lose the case with information that could get him disbarred (it indicates he embezzled his clients' money in the past). [[spoiler:He kills himself rather than comply.]]

''Perry Mason'' is a TV series which premiered on HBO on June 21, 2020. It is based on the iconic [[Franchise/PerryMason character of the same name]] created by Creator/ErleStanleyGardner. The show was created by Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald and produced by Creator/RobertDowneyJr. It stars Creator/MatthewRhys as Perry Mason, Creator/JulietRylance as Della Street, and Chris Chalk as Paul Drake. Creator/SheaWhigham plays Pete Strickland, Perry's partner in a private detective business.

Season 2 premiered in 2023. Perry, having completed his OriginStory, is now a full-time lawyer doing spiritually unfulfilling civil work. The big mystery is the murder of Brooks [=McCutcheon=], the bumbling failson of Los Angeles business magnate Lynell [=McCutcheon=]. Perry takes as his clients two young Latinos who are obviously being used as patsies. Perry's determination to find out the truth and prove his clients' innocence threatens to expose the various corrupt dealings of the [=McCutcheon=] family, which makes Perry a target of Lynell's wrath. Creator/SeanAstin appears as Sunny Gryce, an amoral businessman and client of the Mason law firm whom Perry dislikes. Creator/KatherineWaterston plays Ginny Aimes, a schoolteacher who counts Perry's son Teddy among her students.

** Della has to stay in the closet about being lesbian due to homophobia. She and her girlfriend maintain separate rooms at their boarding house and can only occasionally spend the night with each other, in spite of being in a monogamous relationship. Hamilton Burger is gay and must also keep this hidden. As a cover, [[TheBeard they pretend they're dating]].

* DetectiveMole: Detective Ennis, one of the two LAPD cops on the kidnapping-murder case, is one of the kidnappers. He is also the murderer of the other three kidnappers, which he pins on fellow kidnapper George Gannon.

* PoliceAreUseless: E.B. and Perry are hired because Baggerly does not trust the LAPD to handle the case properly. It quickly becomes apparent that the police detectives are set on pinning the murder on the Dodsons and do not care to pursue leads that might point away from that. The lead detective even admits to Perry that he just wants the case closed and is not concerned if they get it right. The detective's partner [[spoiler: is one of the kidnappers]].

* StringTheory: Perry Mason has put pictures of the persons in the case and of pieces of evidence on the wall in his house, and connected them with strings.

Season 1 serves as an OriginStory to the novels. It takes place in 1932 Los Angeles, a world caught up in the wealth of the growing motion picture industry, an oil boom, the upcoming Olympics, and the rise of a Christian Revival movement. In the midst of this Perry Mason is working as the PI to CrusadingLawyer Elias Birchard 'E.B.' Jonathan (Creator/JohnLithgow). Perry finds himself caught in the case of a lifetime: infant Charlie Dodson is kidnapped for ransom and murdered. His mother Emily is arrested and charged with complicity in her son's kidnapping. The Charlie Dodson case becomes a major scandal that threatens to shake the city and its power structure to the core. Creator/TatianaMaslany plays Sister Alice, a charismatic evangelical minister, who turns out to be connected to the Dodson kidnapping.

* LipstickLesbian: Della and her girlfriend Hazel are both quite feminine, wear makeup and pretty clothes, and it's not obvious that they're lesbians until they're shown in bed with each other. In Season 2, Della sees Anita St. Pierre, who's also feminine, though a bit less so.

* WhereEverybodyKnowsYourFlame: In "Chapter 13" Anita takes Della out to a hidden lesbian bar. A mysterious man is shown following them.

* TheAllegedCar: Perry's aging former milk van he uses to get around.

** The Radiant Assembly of God has a completely desegregated congregation. Black and white church members sit together intermingled.

** Strickland notes that the head of the Hollywood studio that hired them looks an awful lot like [[Creator/TheMarxBrothers Groucho Marx]]. It turns out that he's a whole lot more dangerous.

** Sister Aimee Semple [=McPherson], like Sister Alice, was also implicated in an abduction -- [[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-incredible-disappearing-evangelist-572829/ her own]], which was alleged by the L.A. district attorney to be a publicity stunt, and was sensationalized by the press as a cover-up for a possible love affair or abortion. Though the charges were dropped due to lack of reliable witnesses for the prosecution, the scandal would permanently damage [=McPherson's=] public reputation.

** Sister Aimee Semple [=McPherson], like Sister Alice, was also implicated in an abduction -- [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Aimee_Semple_McPherson her own]], which was alleged by the L.A. district attorney to be a publicity stunt, and was sensationalized by the press as a cover-up for a possible love affair or abortion. Though the charges were dropped due to lack of reliable witnesses for the prosecution, the scandal would permanently damage [=McPherson's=] public reputation.

* LipstickLesbian: Della and her girlfriend Hazel are both quite feminine, wear makeup and pretty clothes, and it's not obvious that they're lesbians until they're shown in bed with each other. In Season 2, Della dates another woman who's also quite feminine.

* LipstickLesbian: Della and her girlfriend Hazel are both quite feminine, wear makeup and pretty clothes, and it's not obvious that they're lesbians until they're shown in bed with each other.

Serving as an OriginStory to the novels, this series takes place in Los Angeles in 1932, a world caught up in the wealth of the growing motion picture industry, an oil boom, the upcoming Olympics, and the rise of a Christian Revival movement. In the midst of this Perry Mason is working as the PI to CrusadingLawyer Elias Birchard 'E.B.' Jonathan (Creator/JohnLithgow). Perry finds himself caught in the case of a lifetime: infant Charlie Dodson is kidnapped for ransom and murdered. His mother Emily is arrested and charged with complicity in her son's kidnapping. The Charlie Dodson case becomes a major scandal that threatens to shake the city and its power structure to the core. Creator/TatianaMaslany plays Sister Alice, a charismatic evangelical minister, who turns out to be connected to the Dodson kidnapping.

* BrickJoke: In "Chapter 10" Pete tells Perry a story about how he went to a theme park and watched an act where a horse dove from a platform into a pool. The credits play over still photos of what was apparently a real 1930s show in which a horse dived from a platform into a pool.

''Perry Mason'' is a TV series which premiered on HBO on June 21, 2020. It is based on the iconic [[Franchise/PerryMason character of the same name]] created by Creator/ErleStanleyGardner. The show was created by Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald and produced by Creator/RobertDowneyJr. It stars Creator/MatthewRhys as Perry Mason, Creator/JulietRylance as Della Street, and Chris Chalk as Paul Drake. Creator/TatianaMaslany plays Sister Alice, a charismatic evangelical minister; Creator/SheaWhigham plays Pete Strickland, Perry's partner in a private detective business; Creator/JohnLithgow appears as E.B. Jonathan, a lawyer who employs Perry as a private detective.

Serving as an OriginStory to the novels, this series takes place in Los Angeles in 1932, a world caught up in the wealth of the growing motion picture industry, an oil boom, the upcoming Olympics, and the rise of a Christian Revival movement. In the midst of this Perry Mason is working as the PI to CrusadingLawyer Elias Birchard 'E.B.' Jonathan (Lithgow). Perry finds himself caught in the case of a lifetime: infant Charlie Dodson is kidnapped for ransom and murdered. His mother Emily is arrested and charged with complicity in her son's kidnapping. The Charlie Dodson case becomes a major scandal that threatens to shake the city and its power structure to the core.

Season 2 premiered in 2023. Perry, having completed his OriginStory, is now a full-time lawyer doing spiritually unfulfilling civil work. The big mystery is the murder of Brooks [=McCutcheon=], the bumbling failson of Los Angeles business magnate Lynell [=McCutcheon=]. Perry takes as his clients two young Latinos who are obviously being used as patsies. Perry's determination to find out the truth and prove his clients' innocence threatens to expose the various corrupt dealings of the [=McCutcheon=] family, which makes Perry a target of Lynell's wrath. Creator/SeanAstin appears as Sunny Gryce, an amoral businessman and client of the Mason law firm whom Perry dislikes.