It at least looks that way in style. This teaser felt a lot like season one of True Detective, but with a different lead. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see whether this return to form includes quality and not just style. At the very least we get to watch Mahershala Ali own the screen in his typically dynamic way.
While details about the season are scarce, season three will feature Ali in the lead role as he investigates a case in the Ozarks. Three timelines can be glimpsed within this teaser, promising the type of multi-decade investigation haunting the main character that we saw with the two leads in True Detective’s first season. The case itself seems to revolve around missing children. There’s also that familiar hint of something occult that stood out so much in the first season.
Some are also interpreting Ali’s lines in this trailer as a suggestion of Alzheimer’s? I can see it. Having his young (presumed) wife speaking to an elderly Ali suggests a man trapped in his memories. Now what mental illness or trauma causes this scene, we don’t know yet.
After the disappointing second season put the future of the series in jeopardy, creator Nic Pizzolatto is looking to right the ship by falling back on some familiar ground. I hope this attempt didn’t result in a season outright copying the first. True Detective’s first season was the kind of magic that you can’t just replicate by following the same formula. I wouldn’t say I’m too worried about that, but I can’t say I’m unconcerned, either. Hey, at the very least we get to see Ali do his thing. He alone has me excitedly anticipating the new season.
True Detective returns for its third season in January.
