It’s been nothing but crickets, at least officially, from HBO since True Detective’s first season ended, but that might all be about to change. Rumors have started to swirl that the beloved mystery series may have offered one of its two leads to one of the best actresses on the planet: Jessica Chastain.
The whisper comes from The Nerdist. The outlet claims True Detective’s creator Nic Pizzolatto is intrigued about the idea of having a more female-driven show during the second go around and as such, has reached out to Chastain to invite her on board. She allegedly hasn’t decided whether or not she’s interested in doing a television show, but if she were going to pick one, it’s hard to imagine it wouldn’t be this one.
True Detective is not the most popular show on television. In all honesty, it’s not anywhere close to achieving that level of popularity either, but thanks to its single season-contained storylines, edgy content and near universal critical acclaim, a case could be made that it boasts the two most sought after roles on television. Not only is there a big, healthy budget involved, there’s a very clear starting and ending date, no pressure to come back and a proven track record.
There’s a very good chance we could see nominations for both Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson for their exquisite work when the Emmys and Golden Globes come around. Now, it’s up to HBO and Pizzolatto to figure out a way to top or at least equal that effort. In order to do that and avoid accusations of treading over the same ground, it’s almost a guarantee that the show will move locations, going out of the Deep South and into somewhere further North. In addition, this female-focused storyline would also be a good idea considering it’s quite possible True Detective may choose another serial killer plot. After all, I’m not sure the stakes on an embezzlement case or even a single murder would be high enough to get HBO viewers to obsessively argue out theories on the Internet.
If Chastain does officially board, the writers would need to decide whether to pair her with another female. Such a move would be a little unusually given the gender breakdown of law enforcement, but if done correctly, it could be a really powerful vehicle to show policework from an extremely unique angle.
We’ll keep you updated on the casting as more details become available. Until I hear otherwise, I will root as hard as possible for Jessica Chastain and hope she’s paired with a focused and dedicated Jim Carrey taking on his first serious role in years.
