The first season of True Detective isn’t just great TV, it’s one of the best damn things ever put on the small screen. The grim, hypnotic story of Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Marty Hart (Woody Harrelson) was unforgettable, a lightning-in-a-bottle moment that the later seasons never quite captured. Earlier this year, True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto teased that he had an idea to bring the duo back for another mystery… but according to Woody Harrelson, that’s not going to happen.
While appearing on Today, host Dylan Dreyer stated that McConaughey had said he and Harrelson would consider another season if it was good enough. “Matthew’s so funny,” Harrelson responded. “But in fairness, never. Not a chance.“
Harrelson explained his reasons for not wanting to return aren’t because he didn’t love working on the show, but all to do with the risk of ruining it. “Because it turned out great,” he said. “I love that it turned out the way it did. If anything, doing another season would, I think, tarnish that.“
I would agree. As great as it might be to see Cohle and Hart reunite for more True Detective, it would be quite the feat to even come close to that first season.
When Pizzolatto spoke of having an idea for a reunion, he implied that McConaughey and Harrelson were into it. “I actually have another story for Cohle and Hart that — who knows? — maybe we’ll do it one day,” Pizzolatto said. “It’s character-based again. … But it’s not something I’ve written or anything. It’s just, I had that in my head. And we’ve talked about getting back together and doing it, and I think the guys are open to it. It’s just a question of whether that would ever happen or not.“
Although Pizzolatto was behind the first three seasons of True Detective, his HBO contract expired, and the network turned to Issa López to develop a new season. True Detective: Night Country was a success, and HBO quickly signed López for another season. HBO’s Head of Drama Series and Film, Francesca Orsi, said the new season will be “set in New York, in Jamaica Bay. Issa has a lot to say, not unlike she did with Night Country. It’s a different milieu but just as powerful.” Production is expected to kick off later this year, but the show isn’t scheduled to premiere until 2027. Nicolas Cage is reportedly playing one of the leading roles, a New York detective named Henry Logan.