The first season of HBO’s True Detective unfurled an engaging serial killer mystery with gorgeous gothic undertones and imagery bolstered by phenomenal lead performances from Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. The second season of True Detective…did not. In fact, it was flaming hot garbage.
As a result, HBO has been very skittish to continue with the anthology series and the series has lain dormant for the last two years. However, Entertainment Weekly is now reporting that True Detective season three may finally be moving forward.
According to EW, creator and showrunner Nic Pizzolatto has written at least the first two episodes of a possible third season. There are also rumors swirling that Emmy-winning writer-producer David Milch – who HBO purists know from his Deadwood and NYPD Blue days – will be joining to work with Pizzolatto. This is good news considering all of the behind the scenes drama Pizzolatto was rumored to be involved in.
It is unknown how accurate EW’s unconfirmed report is or the extent of Pizzolatto and Milch’s rumored collaboration at this time. Milch’s writing and showrunning track record is impressive, though he is not expected to assume showrunning duties for season three. In fact, Pizzolatto isn’t signed on as showrunner either, leaving a potentially lucrative and attractive vacancy for anyone brave enough to try and right the ship after season two’s letdown.
It’s also important to remember that HBO has not officially greenlit a third season of True Detective. All of this is just playful conjecture until the network releases an official statement.
By now, fans of the show are familiar with its rise-and-fall first two seasons (though both performed well in the ratings). Talk about a potential third season has gone both ways since the second ended. In July 2016, HBO head of programming Casey Bloys said “…both Nic and HBO are open to another season. I don’t think Nic has a take and he’s working on some other projects. We’re open to somebody else writing it and Nic supervising it. It’s a valuable franchise, it’s not dead, we just don’t have a take for a third season yet.”
We’ll leave the long-running saga of Milch’s potential Deadwood reunion movie for another day. For now, we’re intrigued by the combo of Milch and Pizzolatto collaborating on a third season of True Detective. Just please leave out any and all bird masks.
'True Detective' Season 3 May Be Alive At HBO After All
