# Perry Mason (1957)

> A master criminal defense attorney and his loyal staff take on the toughest cases to protect the innocent.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/3971

## Facts

- Seasons: 9
- Episodes: 271
- Episode runtime: 52 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama, mystery
- Created by: Erle Stanley Gardner
- Network: CBS
- Cast: Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, William Hopper, William Talman, Ray Collins, Frieda Inescort, Carleton G. Young, Whitney Blake
- TMDB rating: 8.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050051/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: suspenseful, polished, wry, comforting, old fashioned

## What critics say

Viewers broadly acclaim the series for its courtroom formula, its lead performance and its dependable courtroom mysteries, though ratings dip unevenly across seasons.

## Synopsis

Perry Mason (1957-1966) is a US CBS courtroom mystery series created by Erle Stanley Gardner. Raymond Burr plays master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason, who takes on the most difficult cases in defense of the innocent. Barbara Hale plays his devoted secretary Della Street, and William Hopper plays wisecracking private eye Paul Drake, who digs up the evidence his boss needs. William Talman appears as the prosecutor Hamilton Burger, Perry's frequent opponent in the courtroom, while Ray Collins plays the weary homicide investigator Lieutenant Tragg. The engine of each episode is a murder case that seems to damn an innocent client, with the team scrambling through interviews and records until a courtroom confrontation pulls the real culprit into the open. Running for nine seasons and roughly 270 episodes, the show is a case-of-the-week procedural rather than a serialized arc, so every installment can be watched on its own. Set in mid-century Los Angeles, it has a polished, old-fashioned tone that mixes suspense with dry humor and a comforting sense of order. Fans of Columbo, The Defenders and Matlock will find similar pleasure in clever lawyers and satisfying reveals.

## Shows like Perry Mason

- [Petrocelli (1974)](https://ember.film/tv/10859)
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- [Dragnet (1967)](https://ember.film/tv/41051)
- [Barnaby Jones (1973)](https://ember.film/tv/554)
- [Murder, She Wrote (1984)](https://ember.film/tv/454)
- [Mannix (1967)](https://ember.film/tv/2672)
- [Ironside (1967)](https://ember.film/tv/4361)
- [Quincy, M.E. (1976)](https://ember.film/tv/2067)
- [Matlock (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/144696)
- [The Rainmaker (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/171354)

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