With the amount of buzz and quasi-secrecy surrounding the casting process for the second season of HBO’s True Detective, you’d think that either J.J. Abrams or Christopher Nolan had something to do with it. HBO has finally announced its newest cast members – Taylor Kitsch, Rachel McAdams and Kelly Reilly – but it’s three people that we were already fully aware were involved with the dark anthology drama. Luckily, their announcements come official character descriptions, which offer us a deeper look into this already complex tale of secrets and murder.
Season 2 of True Detective will follow a trio of police officers (Colin Farrell, Kitsch and McAdams) who are caught up in a conspiracy-driven mess after a murder affects a city project involving a career criminal (Vince Vaughn). Let’s take a closer look at each of the newly confirmed characters.
Rachel McAdams
Rachel McAdams (About Time), whose name has been circling this project for a while now, is set to play Ani Bezzerides, a detective for the Ventura County Sheriff’s Dept. According to Deadline, she has uncompromising ethics that complicate her relationships with others, as well as her work. I like that they’re not just making her the go-to good gal that Allison Tolman played in Fargo. McAdams is a delight when she’s being saucy.
Taylor Kitsch
Taylor Kitsch’s (Savages) name has also been tied to True Detective for ages now, and he even confirmed it himself a while back. He’ll play Paul Woodrugh, a motorcycle officer for the California Highway Patrol. A war veteran, Woodrugh is constantly trying to avoid the mistakes of his past, as well as “the sudden glare of a scandal that never happened.” Now that’s a fruity phrase if I’ve ever read one. What could this unreal scandal be, and why are its glares so sudden?
Kelly Reilly
Kelly Reilly (Black Box) will star as Jordan Semyon, the wife of Vince Vaughn’s bad guy Frank. She’s a former D-list actress who keeps herself busy staying on top of Frank’s business and schemes. While the other two actors had been circling the cop roles, Reilly’s role was only previously described as self-possessed, with the name of Morgan.
Other actors in line for roles in Season 2 are Michael Irby (Almost Human), Abigail Spencer (Suits), Riley Smith (True Blood), Leven Rambin (The Hunger Games), Adria Arjona (Person of Interest), James Frain (Intruders), Michael Hyatt (Franklin & Bash) and Lolita Davidovich (Good God). Are they official or just rumored at this point? Only time and the sluggish HBO can tell.
Expect to find True Detective Season 2 causing Twitter meltdowns when it hits HBO at some point in 2015.
