True Detective season 3 inching closer; Mahershala Ali casting confirmed
While at the TCA Summer Press Tour today with HBO, programming head Casey Bloys confirmed that the new batch of episodes is close to a renewal at the premium cable network, saying that the Moonlight actor has been cast. He’s also read five episodes of the new season, so all signs seem to be pointing towards this being the season that will get the show back on track after a hot mess of a season 2.
We’ll be the first to admit that it’s harder to be psyched for more True Detective than it was at one point years ago, largely because of how the show dropped the ball in following up a pretty fantastic first season. Even with that, it’s a mistake in retrospect to proclaim that it was perfect. That was a season that featured great performances, but also a final episode that tried so hard to be introspective that it featured an ending that never quite ventured anywhere at all. (We wouldn’t mind seeing either Woody Harrelson or Matthew McConaughey again, just for the record.)
There are two reasons at present to hope that this is the season that bounces the show back and makes it every bit as great as it once was:
1. Time – We feel like one of the biggest reasons season 2 didn’t pan out was because it was rushed. Showrunner Nic Pizzolatto wrote the entirety of the first two seasons by himself, and when you have that challenge, sometimes you bite off so much more than you can chew. He should’ve had another six months at least to tinker with his characters and make things a little more streamlined and a little less clunky/depressing for the second season. Think of it in terms of how Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have had to years to work on new Sherlock seasons as of late.
2. David Milch – The story is that the Deadwood guru is helping to create the best story possible this time, and we’re not going to speak out against something written by two people who clearly know what they are doing. Despite season 2’s many misgivings, we know that Pizzolatto is a talented writer and really puts effort into his work.
Season 3 is definitely worth a shot; our excitement level may be different, but Ali is a tremendous actor and it’s great to see that he is finally getting roles to match his ability. There are obviously going to be more castings following this, and they may come out in the weeks ahead. It makes sense for HBO to announce big-name performers far in advance since it gives them a significant amount of time to build up buzz. That helped Big Little Lies, and it will help here.
Are you feeling any excitement for True Detective season 3? Sound off in the comments! (Photo: HBO.)