Started watching the 2020 Perry Mason series on HBO. Starts out with Mason doing Private Eye work, living next to a private air field on his family's run-down farm, and his employer, E.B. Jonathon in private law practice.
By the 3rd "Chapter" (as they enumerate the episodes), it's become obvious to me the writers had a primary objective -- to cram as many Social Justice issues and situations into the storyline as possible.
Perry is a former WWI soldier who was discharged for misconduct, his employer "borrowed from" a few escrow accounts of clients in order to overcome some cashflow problems and now faces possible disbarment, Della Street (E.B.'s secretary) is a Lesbian, Paul Drake is a Black police officer, and the Detectives and Police Chief are all corrupt.
The foundation of the story is a child kidnapping that supposedly went wrong. The parents paid the kidnappers $100K cash, but when the child was returned, he was already dead. The kidnappers keep turning up dead, the kidnapped kid's father was arrested for the crime then released after they arrested his wife instead, and there's a evangelical church involved.
I do like the cinematography, set design, props and costumes. Really did a good job recreating LA in 1932.
I can see making racism, prostitution, religious leaders, and other things that defined the time being part of the story, but Perry has a Mexican girlfriend (owns the ai field next door), Della is in the LGBTQ+ category, E.B. seems to be in the beginning stages of dementia, and a few other scenes seem to add no real value other than some SJW need to include it.
Just watched the end of Chapter 4. I guess this is how Perry gets into practicing law. (no spoilers)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2077823/