Casting news for the second season of HBO’s True Detective has been almost as much of a guessing game as anything steeped in reality. Luckily, the leads have all been made official now, but there are still roles to be filled. C.S. Lee, known to fans of that other dark and deadly cable drama Dexter, has been added to True Detective for a recurring role.
Season 2 of True Detective will center on a murder case with three different police officers from different areas investigating. Lee’s role will feed into the overall plot it seems, as he’ll play the intelligent and confident Richard Geldof, a state Attorney General whose political ambitions know few bounds. He sounds like he’ll be one of the good guys – at least until that last episode reveal – as THR describes him as “smooth and polished” and in possession of “an unmoored moral compass.” If you’re at all familiar with his sex-driven Dexter character Vince Masuka, you’ll know that morals aren’t always something Lee exhibits in his acting.
Vince Vaughn stars as career criminal Frank Semyon, whose attempt to go legit is disturbed by the murder of his business partner, the crime that brings in our central trio. The mob-tied detective Ray Velcoro (Colin Farrell) is trapped between the corrupt police station where he works and his underworld boss. Ani Bezzerides (Rachel McAdams) is a detective whose unwavering ethics make her stand out in her field, but not always in a good way. Taylor Kitsch will play Paul Woodrugh, a motorcycle cop and war vet who has a very complicated past behind him. It’s presumed that creator Nic Pizzolatto will psychologically torture these four characters in most intriguing ways throughout the season.
Other actors cast have been Kelly Reilly, who will play Frank’s D-list actress wife Jordan, Michael Irby, Leven Rambin, James Frain, Abigail Spencer and Joe Lindstrom. This season will also see a revolving door of directors, including the Fast & Furious franchise’s Justin Lin, which is quite different from the first season, which was helmed in full by Cary Fukunaga.
C.S. Lee, who also had a recurring role on Chuck for a little while, appeared in recent episodes of Criminal Minds and the now-cancelled Franklin & Bash. He’ll be seen in two features coming up, including Jason Dudek’s sci-fi thriller Toxin and Michael Winnick’s action comedy The Better Half.
Expect to find True Detective hitting HBO in early-ish 2015.
