The best TV shows of 2020 — Devs, Better Call Saul, Ozark, I May Destroy You, What We Do In the Shadows, Betty, Normal People — have all had their moments. But I submit none of them have been as satisfying and earned as Perry Mason's closing argument in the Charlie Dodson murder trial in the season finale of the lurid new HBO reboot series. It's the best six minutes of TV this year (so far). I wouldn't choose Perry Mason as one of my favorite shows of 2020. All the others mentioned would be ahead of it on my top 10 list. Perry Mason isn't a fun watch, by any stretch. It begins with the murder of a baby and only gets darker from there. The characters, including leading man Matthew Rhys as the title private-eye-turned-lawyer, aren't hugely likable. (Rhys does a whole lot of yelling.) And the mystery is pretty thin. The series borrows elements of noir but remains more of a procedural drama than anything else. We're shown who did it. The urgency comes from the constantly unfolding details and whether or not Mason can make the case and deliver justice.
