TV Ratings: ‘Perry Mason’ Finale Scores Season High Numbers
The finale of “Perry Mason” season 1 certainly set things up nicely for the second installment, and delivered season high numbers for HBO in the process.
Sunday’s episode drew a total of 1.1 million total viewers in its live network airing, which represents a season high and a 24% increase on the premiere. Overall, 1.6 million viewers watched the finale across all platforms, a very slight dip from the premiere, which drew 1.7 million.
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Per HBO, the show’s first episode is now approaching 9 million viewers across all platforms, while series in general registered a 45% increase in digital viewing from premiere to finale night. The “Perry Mason” premiere was the network’s strongest debut for any series in almost two years, besting the season debut of “Watchmen” (which drew 1.5 million viewers) and the first episode of “The Outsider” (which delivered 1.2 million viewers).
“Perry Mason” stars Matthew Rhys as the titular low-rent private investigator who is living check-to-check and is haunted by his wartime experiences in France and suffering the effects of a broken marriage. John Lithgow also stars as Elias Birchard “E.B.” Jonathan, a struggling attorney and a semi-regular employer of Mason, while Juliet Rylance plays Della Street, E.B. Jonathan’s creative and driven legal secretary, and Tatiana Maslany plays Sister Alice McKeegan, the leader of the Radiant Assembly of God, preaching to a hungry congregation and a radio audience across the country.
The series hails from executive producers Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey under their Team Downey banner, with Team Downey’s Amanda Burrell also executive producing. Ron Fitzgerald, Joe Horacek, Rolin Jones, and director Timothy Van Patten also executive produce. Rhys produces the series in addition to starring.
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