True Detective's Nic Pizzolatto Bails on Robert Downey Jr.'s Perry Mason Reboot

Writer rumblings are coming from HBO's Perry Mason TV reboot today with the news that Nic Pizzolatto, who was originally tapped to pen the series has exited the project. In his place, HBO has hired Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald. Robert Downey Jr. is still set to play the titular character of Perry Mason.

Perry Mason made its first debut in the 1930s as an unorthodox investigator/defense attorney, and has since made appearances in dozens of projects from TV to movies to radio. This latest reboot was originally imagined as a motion picture, but has since been readapted for TV.

Pizzolatto has apparently left the project to focus on True Detective Season 3, Deadline reports, which has snagged Oscar winner Mahershala Ali as its new star.

Fitzgerald and Jones have a long history of projects together, including Weeds and Friday Night Lights. When and if they do manage to get this new show off the ground at HBO, it will mark Robert Downey Jr.'s first return to TV since his time on Ally McBeal.