True Detective season 3
The third season of True Detective, an American anthology crime drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto, was confirmed by HBO on August 31, 2017, and premiered on January 13, 2019. The story takes place in the Ozarks over three decades,[1] as partner detectives investigate a macabre crime involving two missing children. The opening theme of the season is the song "Death Letter" written by Son House and performed by Cassandra Wilson from her 1995 album New Moon Daughter.[2]
True Detective
8
January 13 –
February 24, 2019
Mahershala Ali plays the lead role of detective Wayne Hays, while Stephen Dorff plays his partner, detective Roland West. Series creator Pizzolatto makes his directorial debut, sharing directing assignments with Jeremy Saulnier and Daniel Sackheim. Pizzolatto also serves as the showrunner and writer of most of the episodes, with the exception of the fourth and sixth, which he co-wrote with David Milch and Graham Gordy respectively.
Production[edit]
Background[edit]
In November 2015, a few months after the conclusion of the second season, HBO reached an overall deal through 2018 with series creator and executive producer Nic Pizzolatto, that called for him to develop a number of new projects, that could include a third season of True Detective.[3] Talking about the deal, the president of HBO programming Michael Lombardo stated, "I am thrilled to continue our relationship with Nic, as he is one of the most exceptionally talented writers and producers working today. I look forward to seeing where his unique creative vision will take us next."[4]
Variety reported that the network had requested some changes for a third season, namely that Pizzolatto work with a staff of writers or with a new showrunner. These proposed changes were made in response to the less favorable reception that the second season received compared to the first, which was in part attributed to the lack of a creative counterpart to Pizzolatto.[4] The strong artistic input from Cary Joji Fukunaga, who had directed all eight episodes in the first season, was thought to have benefited the show. By contrast, the second season enlisted a number of directors, effectively leaving Pizzolatto free to create the season on his own.[3][5][6] In June 2015, in an interview with Vanity Fair, Pizzolatto had stated, "If I'm making a movie or a show or whatever, I'm expressing something on a personal level or else it doesn't mean anything to me. If I'm doing that, it works better without a committee."[7]
Home media[edit]
The season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 3, 2019. In addition to the eight episodes, both formats contain bonus content including the featurettes "Designing the Decades" and "A Conversation with Nic Pizzolatto and T Bone Burnett" as well as deleted scenes and an extended version of the season finale.[43]