HBO has found its male leads for True Detective Season 2 and celebrated the occasion by releasing the first plot details and character descriptions for Nic Pizzolatto’s second installment in his crime drama anthology.
Rumors suggesting Vince Vaughn and Colin Farrell were being considered for roles or were in negotiations turned out to be spot on as both big-screen actors have officially joined the True Detective Season 2 cast list. They will follow in the footsteps of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, the former of whom won a 2014 Golden Globe for his role in True Detective Season 1.
Farrell will play the part of Ray Velcoro, a “compromised detective whose allegiances are torn between his masters in a corrupt police department and the mobster who owns him.” Expect a crime syndicate of some sort to have a major presence in the upcoming season based on that description.
Vaughn won’t be Velcoro’s partner, but instead will play Frank Semyon, a “career criminal in danger of losing his empire when his move into legitimate enterprise is upended by the murder of a business partner.” I’m thrilled to see Pizzolatto isn’t afraid to break away from the two detective formula the first season established.
Here are the first official True Detective Season 2 plot details: “Three police officers and a career criminal must navigate a web of conspiracy in the aftermath of a murder.” That means we will have at least two more police officers to be announced that should play a prominent role in the eight-episode run, though likely will see less screen time than Vaughn and Farrell.
HBO has brought in Justin Lin of Fast & Furious fame to direct the first two episodes. Does that mean there could be a massive car chase involved? I’d put the odds at better than 50/50.
Production on True Detective Season 2 gets underway later this fall in California. The first episode will premiere in 2015.
