TV Show review
Review basis: 2 seasons, 16 episodes · through April 24, 2023
June 21, 2020 · TV-MA · Canceled
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Perry Mason is an HBO drama about the origin of the famous lawyer in 1930s Los Angeles. Perry starts as a struggling private investigator haunted by war and investigates a baby kidnapping case in season one and a rich man's murder in season two. The show adds visible lesbian storylines for Della Street with secret romances and reimagines Paul Drake as a Black cop facing racism in the police force.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Perry Mason.
Woke representation / casting
Black actor Chris Chalk plays Paul Drake, a prominent detective originally white in the books and classic series. The show emphasizes his struggles with racism in the LAPD. Della Street is a lesbian with visible romance subplots with other women. Lupe Gibbs, played by a Hispanic actress, is Perry's lover and a pilot.
Woke political dialogue
Dialogue stays mostly within period language about police corruption, business power, and courtroom fights. There are no direct modern activist speeches or identity lectures.
Identity-driven story themes
Della's lesbian relationships and desire to practice law form recurring subplots across both seasons. Paul Drake's story highlights racial barriers. Season two centers a murder case with poor Mexican suspects versus a wealthy oil family. These layers sit on top of the mystery plot.
Western institutional / cultural critique
The LAPD is shown as deeply corrupt and racist. Powerful businessmen and elites manipulate the system against ordinary people. The justice system delivers only partial or flawed results. The show uses 1930s setting to show these problems.
Production
Woke character or canon changes
Paul Drake is changed from white to Black. Della Street is made lesbian and an ambitious aspiring lawyer rather than a traditional secretary. Hamilton Burger is portrayed as gay. These are clear departures from the original Erle Stanley Gardner source material and the classic TV series.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Some viewers and critics complained that the show checks diversity and queer boxes by making Paul Drake Black and Della lesbian. Forum posts and reviews called it "woke Perry Mason" and said the changes felt forced. Complaints were limited to online discussions and a few articles.
Creator track record context
Rolin Jones has a cached low score with no major activist pattern. Ron Fitzgerald and other writers have credits in prestige drama with little public identity politics focus. Robert Downey Jr. as producer has mixed personal comments leaning away from strong liberalism after prison. Original creator Erle Stanley Gardner was a historical justice advocate with conservative leanings in available sources.
