True Detective: What’s Happening with Season 2?

The stand-out breakthrough crime series of 2014 has to be HBO’s atmospheric and idiosyncratic noir thriller, True Detective. Never before has the first series of a TV drama caused such a stir and encouraged such dedication and obsession from its new fans. There’s little doubt that the occult-tinged show is going to run and run.

Information about the highly anticipated second season has been drip fed at an almost glacial pace, so it’s no surprise that the rumour mill has been working overtime. However, things are finally starting to come together and an image is now starting to take shape. Writer Nic Pizzolatto will return for the second season which will be comprised of eight episodes. The first two episodes will be directed by Justin Lin.

Let’s round up what else is now confirmed – and what we might know – about True Detective season 2, shall we?

The logline

Three police officers and a career criminal must navigate a web of conspiracy in the aftermath of a murder.

The setting

The story will be set in California, and production on the show has already begun there.

What’s changed?

The show will feature a new plot with completely different characters. No more Matthew McConaughey, no more Woody Harrelson.

The plot

There are rumours circulating about the finer plot details, but in an interview with HitFix writer Nic Pizzolatto explained that the story would involve ‘hard women, bad men and the secret occult history of the United States transportation system’. It’s also been confirmed that there will be four stars: three detectives (one female, two male) and a big bad guy.

In addition, TheWrap has reported that the story ‘will follow the death of a corrupt city manager of a fictional California city who’s found brutally murdered amid a potentially groundbreaking transportation deal that would forever change freeway gridlock in the state. Three law enforcement officers from different cities and branches of the government are tasked with finding out who did it. They soon discover their investigation has much broader and darker implications than they initially thought’.

Colin Farrell

Colin Farrell (Phone Booth, Total Recall, In Bruges) has been confirmed as one of the leads. He will play Ray Velcoro, a compromised detective whose allegiances are torn between his masters in a corrupt police department and the mobster who owns him.

Rachel McAdams

Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes, Midnight In Paris, The Notebook) will play the female lead – Ani Bezzerides, a Ventura County Sheriff’s detective whose uncompromising ethics put her at odds with others and the system she serves.

Taylor Kitsch

Kitsch (John Carter, Friday Night Lights, Battleship) will star as Paul Woodrugh, a war veteran and motorcycle officer for the California Highway Patrol, running from a difficult past and the sudden glare of a scandal that never happened.

Vince Vaughn

The show’s villain has been confirmed as Vince Vaughn (Wedding Crashers, Dodgeball, The Internship). His character is Frank Semyon, a criminal and entrepreneur in danger of losing his empire when his move into legitimate enterprise is upended by the murder of a business partner.

Kelly Reilly

Reilly (Sherlock Holmes, Black Box, Above Suspicion) will play Vaughn’s wife, Jordan – a former D-list actress and partner in his enterprises and ambitions.

Who else?

A number of other actors are said to have been confirmed for season 2, including Riley Smith, Jon Lindstrom, Christian Campbell, Michael Hyatt, Yara Martinez, Lolita Davidovich, Adria Arjona and James Frain.

When is it due to air?

True Detective season 2 has been expected to air during summer 2015 – however, some fans are getting a little tetchy that the premiere date hasn’t been announced yet, which means we could have to wait even longer…

We’ll have to wait until 2015, but we’re already very, very excited…