Season 3 of HBO’s True Detective is officially in development.
According to EW, Emmy-winning writer/executive producer David Milch (Deadwood, Hill Street Blues, Luck) has come on board to join creator Nic Pizzolatto in developing the third season. The nature of their collaboration is not quite clear, though it does not seem like Milch is being brought on board as showrunner. Pizzolatto served as showrunner for the first two seasons of the series, but is not set to return in that capacity for season 3.
Pizzolatto has written the first two episodes for what may be True Detective season 3 if HBO decides to continue with the series (which it most likely will). True Detective season 3 is not greenlit as of yet, so there is a chance of the series not going forward, but that seems unlikely considering Milch’s involvement and the show’s high profile. Considering True Detective is an anthology series, season 3 is going to be separate from the previous two seasons of the series, though in a recent interview season 1 star Matthew McConaughey expressed his interest in returning to the series as Rust Cohle.
True Detective has been a ratings hit for HBO, with particular critical acclaim hoisted upon the Cary Joji Fukunaga-directed first season. Season 2, which aired back in 2015, took a bit of a hit critically, but still performed perfectly well ratings-wise for the cabler. If HBO ends up renewing True Detective for a third season it will be exciting to see who ends up joining the cast, McConaughey or no McConaughey.