Things get turned on their head in season two of True Detective, writes Munya Vomo
Given that most people cry foul when their favourite TV series are canned prematurely, the producers and writers have to come up with ingenious ways to keep viewers watching their shows.
It is with this in mind that the people behind True Detective took a gamble on the second season and brought in a different cast.
In the first season, we met Hollywood royalty in the form of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, who played homicide detectives from Louisiana. Their story saw them track down a serial killer after a 17-year search. When the season ended, the writers neatly wrapped up the story, making it a stand-alone season.
Thanks to the internet, news of the second season and its new characters hit us the moment the announcement was made. The new season includes, yet again, some of Hollywood’s finest, with Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams and Taylor Kitsch set to grace our screens.
The best way to enjoy this season is to try and forget what you know about the previous one. The new story is set in California and the cops (played by Farrell, McAdams and Kitsch) cross paths during one murder investigation involving a shady businessman (played by Vaughn).
All the cops and the bad guys have their own backstories which will keep you involved in their lives outside of the police station. Here, the script-writers are in their element, weaving human drama into police procedure. In this second season, the script is never overshadowed by the star power.
One thing that we have to realise is that the big names involved are always shooting major films and therefore cannot necessarily commit to many seasons of a TV show. Where this might ordinarily pose a problem when shooting a TV series, it has also highlighted just what a winning concept show creator Nic Pizzolatto has on his hands. Of course, he used the pull of McConaughey and Harrelson’s names to get True Detective noticed the first time around. Once the first season was in full swing, the challenge was how to make the show end on a high note, high enough to get the nod for a second one. He obviously got that right and now it remains to be seen how the new season will unfold.
From what we have seen so far, the latest season holds its own. They are essentially two distinct works – so you don’t have to watch the first season to appreciate the new one.
In some ways, it’s like the producers were watching the fall-out from Two And A Half Men and why it did not work out post Charlie Sheen, and why Anger Management also failed.
In both cases the character Charlie was synonymous with Two And A Half Men and only played by Sheen. As funny as Ashton Kutcher could have been, the viewer’s eye and mind were fixated on the original Charlie, so replacing him was not a good idea.
Had Pizzolatto been tempted to replace McConaughey and Harrelson and continue the series with their characters, we would not be having this conversation.
What he did could be the solution to all those other titles like Prison Break and Hannibal that ended while some fans still needed more. American Horror Story did it pretty well; you tell an amazing story in the first season, replace the cast and tell other stories of other characters under the same title in the next season.
It all boils down to a good story and that is achieved by keeping the audience guessing not only what will happen, but also who will do it.
l True Detective, season 2, shows Thursdays on M-Net Edge (DStv channel 102) at 9pm.