Should Season Two of True Detective Not Have Happened?

Would True Detective have been a stronger show if season two had never existed?

True Detective is back in the news, but not because a third season is not he horizon. Though there has not been official word, it is apparently unlikely that True Detective will see a third season. That means that the series will end on the somewhat-sour note of season two, which had its merits but never fully came together.

HBO’s former head of programming, Michael Lombardo, was responsible for pushing True Detective and getting a second season. It’s hard to game him. The first season was wildly popular in a way that few shows ever are, so of course HBO would want more as fast as possible. But Nic Pizzolatto had years to work on the first season and didn’t necessarily imagine anymore. That led to an obviously rushed turn-around for season two.

True Detective was never meant to function like other shows, and with that in mind maybe it should never have had a second season at all. Without season two, True Detective’s reputation would be unblemished.

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Even though season two was not as bad as it was painted to be, it’s easy to see how things would be different, better, without it. The failure of season two might have contributed to HBO being more cautious with like-minded series. The upcoming The Night of is billed only as a mini-series, and will likely stay that way.

Shows do not have to follow a set-path; there does not have to be season after season. This is something that British television understands, even if it can be frustrating for the viewers. True Detective season two was worth watching, and is worth a second look for those that dismissed it early on.

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But in terms of True Detective’s, and even HBO’s, reputation, it shouldn’t have been green-lit in the first place.

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