'True Detective' renewed for Ozarks-set, Mahershala Ali-led Season 3
True Detective is officially back on the beat at HBO.
The premium cabler has formally renewed Nic Pizzolatto’s crime anthology for a third season, with Oscar winner Mahershala Ali set to star. HBO did not confirm any additional casting beyond Ali (whose hiring leaked out earlier this summer), but the network did pull the curtain back on Season 3’s top-secret premise.
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“The next installment tells 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,” reads the logline. HBO also revealed that Ali will be playing Wayne Hays, a state police detective from Northwest Arkansas.
The multiple-timeline conceit suggests Pizzolatto — who HBO notes is the sole writer of Season 3, with the exception of Episode 4 which he co-wrote with Deadwood’s David Milch — will more closely resemble the series’ acclaimed first season (versus the much-maligned second).
Another promising sign: Buzzy filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin, Green Room) has come on board as an EP/director.
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“Nic has written truly remarkable scripts,” says HBO president Casey Bloys. “With his ambitious vision and Mahershala Ali and Jeremy Saulnier aboard, we are excited to embark on the next installment of True Detective.”
Adds Pizzolatto: “I’m tremendously thrilled to be working with artists at the level of Mahershala and Jeremy. I hope the material can do justice to their talents, and we’re all very excited to tell this story.”
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