Excitement has been high for the third season of True Detective, after mistakes were reportedly learnt from the lacklustre second season and the show went back to its original format of giving series creator Nic Pizzolatto more time to write the episodes and bringing in a full-time director to helm the whole season.
Unfortunately, that plan has gone up in smoke, as director Jeremy Saulnier (Green Room) has left the show after directing just two episodes. A statement from HBO cited the dreaded “scheduling conflicts” for his departure, but sources at Variety say that “filming on location in Arkansas has been tough at times, and that Pizzolatto and Saulnier had differences of opinion on the episodes”.
Reportedly, after finishing shooting on the second episode, it became clear that the third episode would take longer than expected, and perhaps Saulnier elected to leave instead of continuing to butt heads with Pizzolatto. The director took to Twitter to say “no comment”.
Replacing Saulnier will be TV veteran Daniel Sackheim, who is a veteran of the industry that has helmed episodes of The X-Files, The Walking Dead and Game Of Thrones, to name a few. Directing duties for the rest of the season will be split between he and Pizzolatto, who will make his directorial debut.
It’s a major disappointment, as Saulnier coming on board was one of the reasons fans were excited for the third season of the show. He’s shown a knack for finding the heart of characters who are buried inside very violent stories in his films, and seemed a perfect fit for the gritty crime drama. It’s a tough ask to expect Sackheim and Pizzolatto to bring the same intensity to the show.
The third season of True Detective will be set in the heart of the Ozarks and tells a mystery that plays out over three different time periods. Mahershala Ali will play Wayne Hays, a state police detective from Arkansas while Ray Fisher will play Freddy Burns, Wayne’s son.
Stephen Dorff will play Wayne’s partner whose life has been changed forever by a baffling crime, while Carmen Ejogo will play a schoolteacher with a connection to two missing children in 1980. The third season is expected to premiere in 2019.
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