When does True Detective season 3 start? Everything you need to know about the new season

It is almost time to catch True Detective season 3, a season that critics have said is a return to form for the crime series.

True Detective season 1 hit in January 2014 and was met with high critical praise. Season 2 arrived in June 2015 and was a disappointment, although still quality television — but a step-down.

After a four year wait, it is now time for the third season.

When does True Detective season 3 start?

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True Detective season 3 premieres on Sunday night, January 13, at 9 p.m. EST on HBO.

To make things even more exciting, the second episode will also air that same evening, immediately following the True Detective season 3 premiere.

Both of the first two episodes on Sunday night were written by series creator Nic Pizzolatto and directed by Jeremy Saulnier (Green Room).

What is True Detective season 3 about?

True Detective season 3 is about a former police detective named Wayne Hays. The story takes place in three different time periods.

The first is 1980 where he and his partner Roland West (Stephen Dorff) investigate the case of a missing child.

The second time period jumps ahead a decade when the case is reopened.

The final time period takes place in 2015 where Hays is suffering from a form of dementia and his past starts to come back to haunt him when a true-crime documentarian asks him about the case.

The first two True Detective season 3 episodes

The True Detective season 3 premiere is titled “The Great War and Modern Memory.” It airs at 9 p.m. EST on HBO on Sunday night, January 13.

Here is the synopsis:

"“The disappearance of a young Arkansas boy (Phoenix Elkin) and his sister (Lena McCarthy) in 1980 triggers vivid memories and enduring questions for retired detective Wayne Hays (Mahershala Ali), who worked the case 35 years before with partner Roland West (Stephen Dorff). What started as a routine case becomes a long journey to dissect and make sense of the crime.”"

Immediately following that is the second episode of True Detective season 3, titled “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.”

Here is the synopsis of that one:

"“Hays (Mahershala Ali) looks back at the aftermath of the 1980 Purcell case in West Finger, Ark., including possible evidence left behind at the Devil’s Den, an outdoor hangout for local kids. As attention focuses on two conspicuous suspects – Brett Woodard (Michael Greyeyes), a solitary vet and trash collector, and Ted LaGrange (Shawn-Caulin Young), an ex-con with a penchant for children – the parents of the missing kids, Tom (Scoot McNairy) and Lucy Purcell (Mamie Gummer), receive a cryptic note from an anonymous source.”"

The rest of the episodes are as follows:

• January 20 – “The Big Never”
• January 27 – “The Hour and the Day”
• February 3 – “If You Have Ghosts”
• February 10 – “Hunters in the Dark”
• February 17 – “The Final Country”
• February 24 – “Now Am Found”

Who is in True Detective season 3?

Mahershala Ali stars as police detective Wayne Hays. He is a state police detective who is investigating the missing children’s case in the Ozarks.

He is also the man the story is seen through the eyes of, which is interesting since he suffers from memory loss in his old age.

Ali is a huge name for True Detective season 3. He won an Oscar in 2017 for his performance in Moonlight and a Golden Globes Award just last week for his performance in Green Book.

He was also seen in the Netflix Marvel series Luke Cage as the villain Cottonmouth.

Stephen Dorff stars as his partner Roland West, a man whose entire career was “influenced by a baffling crime.”

Dorff is best known as the main villain in the ’90s Marvel movie Blade.

Carmen Ejogo portrays a teacher named Amelia Reardon, someone with a connection to the two missing children in the 1980 case.

She has significant roles in the horror movie It Comes at Night, the sci-fi blockbuster Alien: Covenant and a supporting role in the Fantastic Beasts franchise.

Ray Fisher is Henry Hays — the son of Wayne. Fisher is best known as Cyborg in the Justice League movie.

Mamie Gummer (The Good Wife) and Scoot McNairy (Argo) star as parents who find themselves affected by these crimes. Josh Hopkins (Quantico) is a private attorney deposing the detectives in an investigation.

Stay tuned to Show Snob as we recap the entire True Detective season 3 and watch along with us as it premieres on HBO on Sunday night, January 13, at 9 p.m. EST.