True Detective

Time is about to become awfully circular and flat for Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn.

After months of rumors, HBO officially announced today that Farrell and Vaughn will be co-starring in season two of Nic Pizzolatto’s True Detective. The two actors have been unofficially attached to the project for awhile now, along with Taylor Kitsch, Elizabeth Moss and Rachel McAdams. No word on who else will be joining the cast but a female role is apparently still in the mix. Thank God, this show needs a strong female lead.

So who are they playing? Farrell will be Ray Velcoro, “a compromised detective whose allegiances are torn between his masters in a corrupt police department and the mobster who owns him.” As for Vaughn, he will be 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.” One can only assume that Semyon will be a fast-talking career criminal, that’s just par for the course for Vaughn.

Aside from the major casting news, HBO also confirmed that Justin Lin will direct the first two episodes. That’s an interesting choice. I like most of Lin’s work (especially the brilliant Fast 5) but he’s not the first name that comes to mind when you think of a dark, character-driven, sometimes bizarre cop drama. Perhaps his areas of expertise will come in handy in season two. More car chases maybe?

The truth is this news is cause for excitement because, well, it’s True Detective. HBO could have revealed the show will star Mike Tyson and Big Bird and it would still be a reason to get excited. After the fan-flipping-tastic first season, we have no reason to be anything but all-in the second time around. Will the show be very different in theme and style? Probably. Will it be as good as what we got last time? No, probably not. But I’m more than willing to give Pizzolatto the benefit of the doubt. Let’s see what he has in store.

But seriously, get a major female character in there, Nic.