The next actor has been cast in True Detective Season 3, and hoo boy, this is getting exciting. When HBO finally greenlit the series earlier this year, Oscar-winning Moonlight actor Mahershala Ali was set in the lead role. Now THR reports that Selma and Alien: Covenant actress Carmen Ejogo is signing on to co-star in the third season of the HBO anthology crime series. Ejogo will play Amelia Reardon, an Arkansas schoolteacher with a connection to two children who went missing in the 1980s.
True Detective Season 3 is set in Northwest Arkansas and follows an Arkansas state police detective, telling “the story of a macabre crime in the heart of the Ozarks, and a mystery that deepens over decades and plays out in three separate time periods.” Creator Nic Pizzolatto returns as showrunner, writer, executive producer, and director, but he’ll be joined by Green Room and Blue Ruin filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier, who will take on directing duties alongside Pizzolatto.
True Detective got off to a splashy start with its first season, which saw Pizzolatto serving as showrunner and writer of all the episodes with Cary Fukunaga directing every episode. There was reported friction between Pizzolatto and Fukunaga which no doubt led to the brilliance we saw onscreen, but for True Detective Season 2 Pizzolatto wielded a bit more creative control as the show rotated in new directors instead of signing one visual voice to the whole season. It looks like a mix between the format of Seasons 1 and 2 is on tap for Season 3, with Saulnier serving as Pizzolatto’s creative partner. Moreover, David Milch consulted on breaking the story for Season 3.
Ejogo is a terrific choice to co-star here. The actress is currently seen spearheading Season 2 of The Girlfriend Experience and will next be seen opposite Denzel Washington in Roman J. Israel Esq. as well as next year’s Fantastic Beasts sequel. We don’t yet have a debut date for True Detective Season 3, but here’s hoping it arrives sometime next fall. Call me crazy, but I’m beyond excited for this.