HBO began developing the series in 2016 as an adaptation of Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason stories, with Nic Pizzolatto initially attached as writer alongside executive producers Robert Downey Jr. and Joe Horacek.

Pizzolatto left the project in 2017 to focus on the third season of True Detective and was replaced as writer by Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald, who reshaped the show's setting to Great Depression-era Los Angeles, about twenty years earlier than the original CBS series but consistent with Gardner's earliest novels.

After Jones and Fitzgerald departed in April 2021, Jack Amiel and Michael Begler took over as showrunners for the second season.

Robert Downey Jr. was originally set to star as Perry Mason himself, but he dropped out in 2018 due to his film schedule, leading to Matthew Rhys being cast in the title role in January 2019.

John Lithgow's real-life son Ian appears in the episode 'Chapter Five' playing Byron, the son of Lithgow's character E.B. Jonathan.

The series premiere drew 1.7 million viewers across all platforms, making it the strongest debut for any HBO series in two years.

Season one holds a 75% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 68, while season two improved to an 84% Rotten Tomatoes rating and a Metacritic score of 71.

HBO canceled Perry Mason in June 2023 after two seasons.