'Perry Mason' Trailer: HBO Reinvents The Iconic Character With 'The Americans' Star Matthew Rhys

Matthew Rhys is a private eye in the 1930s in Perry Mason, a new take on the 1950s-60s TV series that originally starred Raymond Burr. Perry Mason was a lawyer on that series, but this new HBO show promises to reveal the character's "origins" working as a P.I. in 1931 Los Angeles. We probably didn't need a Perry Mason origin story, but this looks pretty damn good. Watch the Perry Mason trailer below.

I don't know if it's the visual flair, the cool '30s style, or the use of Radiohead's "Life in a Glasshouse," but damn, do I love this trailer. I have no connection to the original Perry Mason – I'm a little old, but not that old – so I have no baggage going into this. And that's probably the right idea – Perry Mason is likely a somewhat familiar name to some, but not to the point where people are going to be angry that this is some betrayal of the character. And hey, Matthew Rhys looks great as a rumpled gumshoe.

Here's the very exclamation point-filled synopsis for the series:

1931, Los Angeles. While the rest of the country struggles through 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 author Erle Stanley Gardner, this drama series follows the origins of American fiction's most legendary criminal defense lawyer, Perry Mason. 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.

In addition to Rhys, Perry Mason stars John Lithgow, Tatiana Maslany, Juliet Rylance, Chris Chalk, Shea Whigham, Stephen Root, Gayle Rankin, Nate Corddry, Veronica Falcon, Jefferson Mays, Lili Taylor, Andrew Howard, Eric Lange, and Robert Patrick. Robert Downey Jr. serves as one of the executive producers, along with Susan Downey, Ron Fitzgerald, Joe Horacek, Rolin Jones, and Timothy Van Patten (who also directs); co-executive producer: Aida Rodgers; producer: Matthew Rhys; created by Rolin Jones & Ron Fitzgerald; based on the characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner.

Perry Mason debuts June 21 on HBO.