Is HBO Looking to Replace True Detective?
HBO has a new crime series debuting this Summer that resembles True Detective.
The first season of True Detective was an insane hit for HBO. Even though the second season didn’t reach the same highs, it still performed well in ratings. Season three is currently on the back burner, and that leaves HBO without a crime series. In this day and age, in which every major network and streaming site has its own crime drama, that’s actually a bit of a problem.
Perhaps to remedy this, HBO will air a new crime miniseries this Summer. The series, The Night Of, is a take on the BBC series Criminal Justice. The two will also share some of the same talent, including John Turturro.
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Since True Detective most likely won’t be seen again until the end of this year at the earliest, it makes sense that HBO would try to hold on to that audience. The Night Of is more of an indictment of the criminal justice system and isn’t exactly a detective show. True Detective, though technically a show about criminals, doesn’t overtly concern itself with the justice system.
As of right now The Night Of will only be an eight episode miniseries. There’s no reason to expect there to be any more than that, and eight episodes in the summer is the perfect way to recapture that True Detective audience. True Detective season two aired last summer, and it would be difficult to believe that HBO didn’t take that into consideration.
Next: This Week in True Detective: American Crime Story Edition.
HBO likely isn’t trying to replace True Detective altogether, but is instead looking to keep itself on the crime series bandwagon. Without any new episodes of True Detective on the horizon, it makes sense for HBO too look for something else to fill that particular void.