HBO is staying in the Nic Pizzolatto business. Per THR, the network has inked an overall deal with the True Detective creator that runs through 2018 and will cover new projects and a possible third season of the anthology series. However, HBO has yet to officially greenlight True Detective Season 3, so it’s also possible that the show concludes after its recent second season.
Following a truly zeitgeist capturing first season, Pizzolatto returned to craft an all new story with new characters and a new location for True Detective Season 2, but the results paled in comparison to the show’s first installment. The primary difference between the two was the lack of a creative counterpart working in tandem with Pizzolatto, which for Season 1 was Cary Fukunaga, who directed all eight episodes. Rumors arose of tension behind the scenes between Pizzolatto and Fukunaga, which may have spurred Pizzolatto to wield more creative control over the show’s second season by using multiple directors.
But it was that push and pull between Pizzolatto’s words and Fukunaga’s visuals that made Season 1 so spectacular, not to mention the stellar performances by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. The second season was an entirely different beast by design, and while Pizzolatto seemed to be going for a David Lynch-esque vibe at times, it fell far short of the creative highs of that nearly perfect first season.
It should be said that while HBO hasn’t ordered Season 3, ratings for Season 2 were actually pretty on par with the show’s first season, and HBO programming chief Michael Lombardo previously said that they’d be more than happy to do a third season, but that it's in Pizzolatto's hands. Essentially, if he wants to take another stab at the anthology format, he’s more than willing. But it’s also possible he may have been burned by the harsh—sometimes unfairly so—critical reaction to the show’s second season and would rather try something else.
Regardless, even though I didn’t love True Detective’s second season, I’d be enthused to dive back into another series from Pizzolatto, be it True Detective Season 3 or something entirely different. What about you, folks? Do you want to see a third season of True Detective or would you rather Pizzolatto try something else? Sound off in the comments below.
