If you were living under a rock or didn’t watch a whole lot of television in the first half of 2014, a little show called True Detective may have passed you by – but for the vast majority of film and television aficionados, the series was perhaps the best thing since Breaking Bad and a natural remedy to that cooling-off period after the AMC drama hung up its lab coat for good.
And luckily for TV fans, the second helping of Nic Pizzolatto’s gritty crime narrative looks set to one-up what many critics and viewers see as near-perfect television.
Unfortunately, stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson will not return this time around – alas, their story has come to an end. And while they were indeed the main selling point initially, the executives over at HBO had something to say on what will continue to draw viewers in.
Michael Lombardo, the channel’s programming president, recently stated that:
“The two scripts we have … I hate to jinx it … they are more exciting than the first season … [Pizzolatto] is an incredibly talented writer. And he’s blown us away with the first two episodes.”
And if that couldn’t get you excited, then maybe the fact that Lombardo also dropped some hints on casting will do the trick:
“The people we will cast will be well-known names, but [casting stars] wasn’t our ambition … Great writing attracts great actors … Maybe people initially came for [Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson], but I think they stayed because the show was so compelling.”
But wait, yes True Detective fans, we have even more breaking news for you … if you can handle such a flurry of announcements, hints and teases.
According to The Playlist, Pizzolatto’s scripts will introduce not two but four central protagonists around which the season’s grizzly goings-on will play out. After reiterating the fact the second season will be set in California, Pizzolatto said:
“Creating new characters for Season 2 was the same experience as creating Rust and Marty. They didn’t exist until I created them, then in their creation I developed a personal attachment to them. I think it’s the same in anything you write. It’s your job to come up with compelling characters who speak to an individual authenticity. If I’m not interested in the characters I can’t go on. I have to be fascinated by them. It’s the same job as Season 1 to me.”
And on the rumour that there were going to be three central characters in the second season, Pizzolatto clarified:
“That ballooned a little bit. I would say there are four central roles.”
Well. there we have it, folks, a double whammy of True Detective news to get you all riled up until we finally get to have it back on our screens again.