True Detective Season 2: No name directors could be the way to go
By Josh Hill
It seems that True Detective has a popularity complex that it’s trying to solve by signing up as many A-list talents as humanly possible for season two of the show. This worked out fine in the first season, but the roster didn’t read like the Hollywood equivilent of the New York Yankees roster.
More from HBO
- HBO expects House of the Dragon season 2 release in summer 2024
- HBO delays three hit shows to 2025 but one big show is still coming in 2024
- Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty will end its run on HBO
- Winning Time season 2, episode 7 recap: “What Is and What Should Never Be”
- Winning Time season 2, episode 6 recap: “Beat L.A.”
The payroll on the show is outlandish, as after the success of Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey in the first season, True Detective seems to think that the best way to make the show good is to shine it up with big names.
Behind the camera, this is starting to be the case too. Cary Fukunaga was a general unknown at the time of directing True Detective but he made the show a hit. This season, Justin Lin has already been hired for two episodes and HBO has left open the remaining six episodes to be directed by some one else.
This should probably be a no-name director or one like Fukunaga who has yet to pop. You get a certain amount of quality and peace of mind when you hire a big name director, but hiring an up-and-comer gives you something even more special — hunger for success.
Hiring a director with something to prove is a bright idea, and it’s why Justin Lin isn’t a bad choice. He needs to prove he’s capable of handling something outside of Fast and Furious movies, and his successor this season needs to be in a similar position that allows the show to get spun in a way another director may not have thought.