The third season of the Nic Pizzolatto-created series True Detective began airing on HBO this past Sunday, January 13th, and so far it's being referred to as a "return to form" for the anthology series, which followed its highly popular first season with a poorly received second one. While it remains to be seen whether the series will continue beyond this season, Pizzolatto confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that he does have an idea for a fourth season.
After one of these (True Detective seasons) I always feel so depleted. But I have to say, I have an idea. …and it’s wild. It’s really, really wild. Where do you even go after this [season]? I just had a lead character who’s 35, 45 and 70 all at the same time and this mystery that has to reach false resolutions and keep going into the future without cheating the audience and all these complicated structural elements. But I have an idea that’s kind of crazy. I think it needs to percolate for a while. I was looking to do another series, maybe a movie, in the meantime, but yeah. I have an idea…"
If Pizzolatto is happy with the idea in his head, I hope we will see it become True Detective season 4 – and it will be interesting to see what exactly this "really, really wild" idea is.
In the meantime, we get to see how season 3 is going to play out. Scripted by Pizzolatto (with Deadwood's David Milch co-writing the fourth episode), the current season is about
a macabre crime in the heart of the Ozarks and a mystery that deepens over decades and plays out in three separate time periods.
Season 3 stars Mahershala Ali, Stephen Dorff, Carmen Ejogo, Scoot McNairy, Mamie Gummer, Ray Fisher, Rhys Wakefield, Michael Greyeyes, Jon Tenney, Sarah Gadon, Brandon Flynn, Michael Graziadei, Emily Nelson, and Jodi Balfour.
Jeremy Saulnier directed the first two episodes of the season, with Pizzolatto directing the fourth and fifth, and Daniel Sackheim directing the third, sixth, seventh, and eighth episodes.