Over the course of its four seasons, True Detective has gone to the swamps of Louisiana, the streets of Los Angeles, the Ozark mountains and the remote reaches of Ennis, Alaska, where it's dark for several months straight. The upcoming fifth season will again introduce a whole new set of characters in a whole new location: Jamaica Bay, New York, part of Long Island.
Long Island is part of the New York City metropolitan area but not part of the city itself. Still, it's significantly more urban than Ennis, Alaksa, where Jodie Foster and Kali Reis hunted for clues in the snow in season 4. What stars will HBO draft for the next season? Who knows?
The first three seasons of True Detective were written and overseen by Nic Pizzolatto. For the fourth season, showrunning duties were handed over to Issa López, who actually came to HBO with the idea for the story independently before the network suggested making it a part of the True Detective franchise. You might think that would make the resulting season a letdown, and plenty of longtime fans feel that way, but I ended up enjoying it.
Going forward, Issa López is basically the new Nic Pizzolatto. “Issa has a lot to say, not unlike she did with Night Country," HBO executive Francesca Orsi told Deadline. "It’s a different milieu but just as powerful.”
"I’m really excited about it. We have a small writers room going with Issa; she’s excited.. We just gave notes on the first two episodes, the entire season. Honestly, I can’t wait for this to go. It’s all about casting and getting this ready."
Per Deadline, casting on the new season is in "preliminary stages," and filming is set to begin in "the coming months." That feels like a quick turnaround, especially for a show known for featuring big names. Before Foster, the show had been held down by the likes of Matthew McConaughey and Mahershala Ali. You don't cast just anyone in a new season of True Detective. One Oscar nomination is considered mild.
Anyway, if filming is as close as Deadline says, we'll probably be watching new episodes of True Detective: Insert Subtitle Here on HBO and Max sometime in 2026.
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