Before it aired, the second season of True Detective was already the most scrutinized show of 2015. Given the anthology-style approach (and the severing of ties with season one director Cary Joji Fukunaga), showrunner Nic Pizzolatto asked for the increased attention, and by the time the show was over, the audience it left behind reacted strongly—for better or worse.
The season, which took a neo-noir approach to modern day Los Angeles, was not without its proponents (myself included), but the critical reception created the surprising question of whether or not there was enough merit for another season. Merit and interest are two different things, however, and though the ink has not been set down on the deal, season three is all but officially underway.
Initial speculation of a greenlight sparked up a few weeks ago after the news broke of Pizzolatto signing an open-ended production deal with HBO through 2018. The deal did not specifically cite Pizzolatto’s breakthrough series as being tied to it, but, as dug up by Moviepilot, Steve Golin—the CEO of True Detective’s production company Anonymous Content—recently spoke bluntly about his feelings on Pizzolatto’s successes and failures, in addition to quietly affirming that the wheels are officially turning on season three:
Look, I think that the scripts weren’t as good, and I think that Nic really felt like he didn’t want to go with the one-director plan, which was something that really added an extra value to it. And I think the alchemy of why these things work, it’s like movies. They’re uneven. Sometimes you have a good one, sometimes you don’t. And I think Nic is wildly talented, but this one just wasn’t as good… Now we’re gonna do season three and hopefully that will be better…
Variety’s report of Pizzolatto’s contract notes that HBO is keen to make a change in approach for a third season, and that the showrunner has to be willing make certain concessions in order to go forward. And since those terms have not been settled yet, nothing is remotely final. But the fact that Golin was matter of fact about the season’s existence seems to indicate that it’s just a matter of time.
For now, the only thing to do is wait—and also try to decide what the theme song should be.
(via Moviepilot)
