Season 2 of HBO’s True Detective was an insane time in popular culture. Met with great anticipation, the debut episode left most scratching their heads. Then things got weirder for a while before eventually turning into something hypnotically fascinating. The middle episodes were pretty great, with the penultimate episode brilliantly setting up… utter failure.
Now it seems Nic Pizzolatto might be leaving True Detective behind entirely, scrapping any plans for a third season in lieu of a new project with HBO. Head of programming Michael Lombardo recently stepped down and was replaced by Casey Bloys, who was recently in charge of the comedy section at the network, namely the highly successful Veep and Silicon Valley.
According to The Hollywood Reporter:
While juggernaut Game of Thrones and the final season of Damon Lindelof’s Peabody-winning drama The Leftovers shouldn’t require too much of Bloys’ time, other decisions, including the fate of True Detective, now fall to him. (HBO sources suggest a new project from creator Nic Pizzolatto is more likely.)
More likely. That means Pizzolatto, much maligned after the catastrophic failures of True Detective season 2 is more apt to tackle something altogether different. Outside the massive hit of Game of Thrones, a true cultural watershed moment for the network, HBO’s dramas have faltered. There was True Detective, the forever-delayed Westworld, and more recently the practically unwatchable Vinyl, which faded from the consciousness week to week.
Trying to reinvigorate the series, which took off like a rocket after the terrific season 1, could be a possibility. And maybe moving Pizzolatto off the project is the best move. After Cary Fukunaga jumped ship following constant disagreements with Pizzolatto, the show was left in Pizzolatto’s hands and he definitely screwed things up because of a profound lack of focus. I, for one, have retained fond memories from season 2 – most of which revolve around Colin Farrell – and I’d like to see a new direction for the show. I don’t want it to go away, but maybe it’s for the best.
