As it does every year, HBO lead the Emmy nominations this morning with a whopping 99 nods and it has a very solid chance at winning in some of the major categories thanks to the phenomenal True Detective.  Though the anthology series wrapped up its complete story at the end of the first season, many (myself included) have been incredibly curious to see what True Detective season 2 will bring.  Creator/writer Nic Pizzolatto has previously teased that the next batch of episodes takes place in the “psychosphere ambiance” of California and deals with “the secret occult history of the United States transportation system.”  Subsequently, speculation has run rampant with what little information we have, and casting rumors have been in abundance.

During an interview earlier today regarding the first season’s nominations, Pizzolatto dropped a few more details about True Detective season 2, walking back the whole “occult history” angle and confirming that it will indeed have multiple directors.  Moreover, The Exorcist director William Friedkin separately confirmed that he has met about working on the series.  More after the jump.

Speaking with The Daily Beast, Pizzolatto says he’s currently “hitting the halfway mark” on the scripts for season two, but added that casting has not yet gotten underway despite the rumors to the contrary.  As for the story of this next season, Pizzolatto sounds like he was a tad surprised at how rabidly every picked up on the teases he dropped after the first season ended:

You've said the show is set in California and it’s about the “secret occult history” of the U.S. transportation system.

Pizzolatto: I would actually just stick with “set in California.”

So it’s not about the U.S. transportation system?

Pizzolatto: I’d rather not to elaborate on that.

There’s also been much speculation as to how many leads this season might have, but Pizzolatto says there four “central roles” this time around.  Now, a “central role” is not exactly the same as a lead (I’d call detectives Gilbough and Papania “central roles” in season one), so there’s still not much clarity there.

Though Cary Fukunaga wonderfully directed all eight episodes of the show’s first season, he essentially worked non-stop for over a year.  Pizzolatto has hinted in the past that season two might have multiple directors to alleviate the pressure and make the production process a little faster, and in today’s interview he confirmed that yes, the second season of True Detective will have more than one filmmaker at the helm.

Speaking of which, The Playlist recently spoke with director William Friedkin (of The Exorcist and The French Connection fame), and when they suggested he’d be a good fit for True Detective, the filmmaker revealed that he’s actually met with Pizzolatto about working on the second season:

"I am considering it. I like this writer [Nic Pizzolatto] very much. I've met him, and he's the real deal as far as I'm concerned. Now, all the new seasons are different so I'm not committed—this new season has nothing to do with the last one. Except for him and his sensibility, which I think is extraordinary… I can't say much more at this time. But I'm a fan of his writing, even though this will not be a continuation of what was done before with [Matthew] McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. So what you can say is I'm a huge fan of his writing, I've met with him, I like him, I like the direction he's taking with this."

That’s certainly exciting to hear, and it sounds like HBO is aiming high when it comes to the talent that will bring the next installment of True Detective to fruition.  There’s still no word on when season two will air, but my guess is it won’t be anytime before early next year.  However long the wait, I've no doubt it will be worth it.