HBO dropped a bit of a bombshell tonight tied to the season finale of the critically acclaimed miniseriesSharp Objects, opting to surprise viewers with the firstTrue DetectiveSeason 3 trailer for the long-awaited new season of the HBO anthology series. As with seasons 1 and 2, this third season hails from creator and showrunnerNic Pizzolato, but it presents a brand new story, new mystery, and new characters. Oscar-winningMoonlightactorMahershala Alileads this Arkansas-set tale, which plays out in three separate time periods as a state police detective digs deeper into the heart of a macabre crime.
This trailer offers a taste of Ali’s performance as well as the Northwest Arkansas setting (where it was also filmed), and isStephen Dorffplaying Ali’s partner? We also catch glimpses ofCarmen EjogoandScoot McNairy, and we see a little bit of the time jumps which appear to find the actors donning old age makeup.
Blue RuinandGreen RoomfilmmakerJeremy Saulniersigned on to be the primary director ofTrue DetectiveSeason 3, but heleft after only directing two episodes. Pizzolatto is directing half the season himself, and the remaining episodes were finished out by veteran TV directorDaniel Sackheim. HBO took a while to greenlightTrue DetectiveSeason 3 after the response to Season 2—for which Pizzolatto wielded a heavy amount of creative control—suffered a severe drop off from the raves of the first season, which starredMatthew McConaugheyandWoody Harrelsonand was directed byCary Joji Fukunaga.
While there may be reason to be skeptical, this debut trailer is pretty excellent, and even if Season 2 was imperfect I found it to be a fascinating ride. So for better or worse, I’m all in here.
Check out theTrue DetectiveSeason 3 trailer below, which also reveals that the new season will premiere on HBO in January.
