True Detective was a bona fide small screen phenomenon back when it debuted on HBO in 2014 as it brought big name movie stars to TV in a tightly-crafted, well-written first season. Unfortunately, Season 2 was a critical flop, especially compared to the universally acknowledged genius of Season 1. The series' future has been in question ever since the Season 2 finale in 2015. Now, however, it looks like a Season 3 really could be moving forward. David Milch of Deadwood and NYPD Blue has signed on to work on True Detective Season 3.
Details are still scarce, but it has been confirmed that David Milch is slated to collaborate with True Detective creator Nic PIzzolatto for a potential Season 3. Pizzolatto has made progress of his own as well, reportedly writing the first two episodes that would kick off a third season. EW reports that Milch will lend his expertise as a writer and producer, but he will not function as the showrunner in Season 3. No showrunner has yet been announced for a new batch of episodes.
Of course, an actual third season hasn't been officially announced by HBO either, so we can't say for sure at this point if we really will get that next batch of episodes. Still, there are reasons to believe that more True Detective is on the way. In addition to Nic Pizzolatto landing David Milch as a collaborator, we have the assurances from HBO programming chief Casey Bloys that the show was still alive as of July 2016. At that point, Bloys had no news of a Season 3; still, it was clear that there was a possibility that the series could be revived if all the right pieces fell into place.
Season 2 of True Detective was so poorly received that it may come as a surprise to some to learn that a Season 3 may be in the works. That said, former HBO President Michael Lombardo has gone on the record as saying that the reason why Season 2 failed was that Nic Pizzolatto was rushed to put the season together rather than given time to craft a creative masterpiece in the way he was for Season 1. Pizzolatto clearly wasn't given a tight timeframe for a potential Season 3, and we've already gone nearly two years without any new episodes. If he is taking his time to deliver his best work again, we could get a Season 3 on par with Season 1.
Interestingly, Season 1 star Matthew McConaughey has said that he'd be willing to return for a Season 3, so there's a chance that we could see Cohle back in the game again. A lot is still up in the air with regard to the future of True Detective at this point, but at least we have new reasons to believe that the series will be back at least once more. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest TV news, and be sure to take a peek at our rundown of 2017 TV cancellations and renewals. For a look at what you can watch, check out our midseason TV premiere guide and our summer TV premiere schedule.
