Michelle Monaghan joins HBO series True Detectives alongside Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson

In early 2012, we reported that Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey would headline an 8 episode series on HBO called TRUE DETECTIVES. That series is still coming and has added actress Michelle Monaghan as the female lead.

Deadline reports that the high-concept series will feature an elevated serial narrative with multiple perspectives and time frames. It centers on two detectives, Rust Cohle (McConaughey) and Martin Hart (Harrelson), whose lives collide and entwine during a 17-year hunt for a serial killer in Louisiana. The investigation of a bizarre murder in 1995 is framed and interlaced with testimony from the detectives in 2012, when the case has been reopened. Monaghan will play the female lead, Maggie Hart, the wife of Martin Hart (Harrelson), a woman who makes a hard decision that has long-reaching and devastating consequences.

Getting stars like Harrelson and McConaughey is not quite the coup it used to be since television series, especially cable, are producing such high quality products nowadays. What could be interesting would be to see if the stars would be up for returning for multiple seasons. Harrelson spent a lot of time on television in his CHEERS days and recently starred in GAME CHANGE on HBO. Being in a limited episode run like this each year would still allow him to hit the big screen often, so it would be within the realm of possibility. McConaughey’s career has lulled in recent years, but his highly buzzed turn in the upcoming DALLAS BUYERS CLUB may make a series less appealing.

Either way, this project sounds like a winner. I hope we get to see it soon.