Tatiana Maslany Exits Perry Mason Ahead of Season 2

Could the series have been a scheduling conflict with another, slightly Hulkier role?

Perry Mason fans got some bad news this week, as it was revealed that Tatiana Maslany will not be returning to the HBO series. The new report comes from TV Line, who broke the story about the Orphan Black alum’s departure from the period drama. The network also confirmed Maslany’s exit from the series, noting Sister Alice’s “arc came to an end as planned in the Season 1 finale.”

The news comes as a bit of a surprise as the actress told Collider last year that she didn’t think Sister Alice’s story was over in the series, even though at the time of the interview Perry Mason hadn’t been greenlit for a second season. “I think it’s the first chapter,” she told us. “I think she’s finally working to emancipate herself from all of the things that have defined her and controlled her up until this point… she sort of becomes distilled in a way. She’s, in a way, starting again.” However, it looks like it was a one-chapter book and Sister Alice is officially done on the Matthew Rhys-led drama.

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Her departure from Perry Mason could be due largely in part to her commitments with the upcoming Disney+ series, She-Hulk, where she’s taking the lead as Jennifer Walters. Filming for She-Hulk is expected to begin any day now, while Perry Mason Season 2’s production is still looming. It’s likely the production schedules will overlap, meaning Maslany needed to drop out of the HBO show.

Other changes have been made revolving around the Perry Mason cast, with the promotions of Eric Lange (Detective Holcomb) and Justin Kirk (Hamilton Berger) to series regulars, according to Deadline. TV Line also noted that new characters would be joining for Season 2, but no word on who those are just yet.

Suspected to be returning for Perry Mason’s next go-round are Rhys, John Lithgow, Juliet Rylance, Chris Chalk, Shea Whigham, Stephen Root, Gayle Rankin, Nate Corddry, Veronica Falcon, Jefferson Mays, Lili Taylor, Andrew Howard and Robert Patrick. The series is executive produced by Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, Amanda Burrell, Ron Fitzgerald, Joe Horacek, Rolin Jones and Timothy Van Patten.

There’s no word on a release date for Perry Mason Season 2 at this time, but Season 1 is available for your streaming pleasure on HBO Max.

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