‘True Detective’ Season 3 Might Star Mahershala Ali — Here’s Who Should Join Him
Mahershala Ali might star in “True Detective” season three, which is another way of saying that everyone who was on the fence about wanting more “True Detective” now wants more “True Detective.” There are a few snags, however: A deal has yet to be finalized, reports Variety, and the show itself isn’t officially coming back. Other than those minor details, though, it sounds like this is as confirmed as the Cleganebowl on “Game of Thrones.”
READ MORE: ‘True Detective’ Season 3: Despite Changes, the HBO Drama Still Has an Auteur TV Problem
“We’re open to someone else writing it with Nic [Pizzolatto] supervising it; it’s a really valuable franchise for us,” HBO’s Casey Bloys said last July. “It’s not dead; I’m just not sure we have the right take for a third season — yet.” Season one of the anthology series, which starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, received critical acclaim and became a cultural phenomenon in its own right; Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams and Taylor Kitsch led the underrated sophomore season.
Ali won an Oscar earlier this year for his supporting role in “Moonlight,” but he’s no stranger to television, having also appeared in “House of Cards” and “Luke Cage.” Should he end up landing the “True Detective” gig, a few names pop out as potential co-stars — even if fan excitement isn’t high enough for #TrueDetectiveSeason 3 memes to take off.
READ MORE: ‘True Detective’ Season 3 Might Happen After All — and David Milch Is Helping
One is Adam Driver, who similarly made a name for himself on prestige TV (“Girls” in his case) before branching out to the silver screen in movies like “The Force Awakens,” “Paterson” and “Silence.” He and Ali are both known for quietly intense performances, and yet the idea of them occasionally veering into buddy-cop territory is too good to pass up.
Another is Tessa Thompson, who like Ali has deservedly come to increased prominence in recent years with her roles in “Dear White People,” “Selma” and “Creed”; she’s also poised to steal scenes in this year’s “Thor: Ragnarok.”
Other names that came up during an informal poll of IndieWire staffers include Lupita Nyong’o, Connie Britton, John Benjamin Hickey, Daniel Wu, Laverne Cox, Jackie Chan, Rosie O’Donnell, Kumail Nanjiani, Janelle Monáe, Issa Rae, John Cho, Zoe Kravitz, Jason Mitchell, Noomi Rapace, Riz Ahmed, O’Shea Jackson, Jr. and Isabelle Huppert, whose casting would surely come as a delight to “Moonlight” director and Huppert super-fan Barry Jenkins.
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