It appears that the final nail in the True Detective Season 3 coffin has yet to be hammered in. HBO’s limited series experiment saw a meteoric rise with its stellar first season, which featured not only a pair of impeccable performances by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, but also a fascinatingly pulp mystery, engrossing writing by series creator Nic Pizzolatto, and tremendous direction by Cary Fukunaga—who helmed every episode. Hot off the buzz of the first season, the show’s second season was fast-tracked by HBO and had nearly every actor in Hollywood vying for a role, but when the new season began airing it marked one of the biggest sophomore slumps in recent memory.
Season 2 wasn’t just disliked, it was ridiculed, lambasted, and even reviled by some. Thus, just like that, HBO’s new golden property had lost its luster. The network wasn’t as quick to greenlight a third season, but but just when it seemed like they may be quietly cancelling the series, we discover there’s hope for Season 3 yet.
This weekend at HBO’s Television Critics Association press day, HBO’s new programming chief Casey Bloys announced that a third season is very much still in the cards, adding “It is not dead, but there’s no take on a third season yet.” Bloys went on to note that he’s open to having someone else come in and write the third season while Pizzolatto supervises, which would be a marked change of pace as Pizzolatto has written every episode of the show thus far.
Indeed, much of the criticism for True Detective Season 2 lay at Pizzolatto’s feet, as the creator wielded a bit more creative control this time around (he and Fukuanaga reportedly had their faire share of creative clashes in Season 1) and, as the show’s creator and principal writer, oversaw every aspect of the show’s development and execution. Moreover, unlike Season 1, the second season utilized multiple directors. This was in part to ensure that the show could hit HBO’s targeted premiere date, but also could have had something to do with Pizzolatto wanting to be the principal captain of the ship.
While Season 2 was certainly a major step down from Season 1, I’ve previously argued that HBO should still move forward with True Detective Season 3, so I’m happy to hear Bloys say the show isn’t dead yet. We previously heard that HBO was mulling a number of options for a third season, including bringing in an outside showrunner to work with Pizzolatto or hiring a full writer’s room. Pizzolatto has an overall deal with HBO and is no doubt developing other series beyond True Detective, but I would certainly like to see him keep at least some of his stamp on this series.
What do you think, folks? Do you want to see True Detective Season 3? Would you be happy to see Pizzolatto with a writing partner this time around? Sound off in the comments below.
