True Detective Season Three Is Officially A Go

After spending quite some time in limbo, True Detective has finally returned from the dead. HBO’s polarizing crime-drama anthology is getting a third season, and all indications are that the third time will, indeed, be the charm.

True Detective season three will star Oscar-winning Moonlight actor Mahershala Ali, with direction from both series creator Nic Pizzolatto and Green Room director Jeremy Saulnier.

Per Variety, the show’s new installment is a tale of macabre crime set in the Ozark Mountains, with a deep-seated mystery at its core that spans three separate time periods. Ali will play protagonist Wayne Hays, a state police detective based in Northwest Arkansas.

“Nic has written truly remarkable scripts,” said HBO president of programming Casey Bloys, echoing comments he made when Ali’s involvement was first announced. “With his ambitious vision and Mahershala Ali and Jeremy Saulnier aboard, we are excited to embark on the next installment of True Detective.”

Pizzolatto wrote season three in its entirety, with the exception of the fourth episode, which he penned alongside Deadwood’s David Milch. “I’m tremendously thrilled to be working with artists at the level of Mahershala and Jeremy,” said Pizzolatto. “I hope the material can do justice to their talents, and we’re all very excited to tell this story.”

True Detective’s new season is currently without an episode count, air date or production start date. Producers include Pizzolatto, Saulnier, Scott Stephens, season one stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, and season one director Cary Joji Fukunaga.