‘TRUE DETECTIVE’ producer says they’re “DIGGING DEEP” to get Season 2 done

Looks like the second season of True Detective is going to be the product of intense madness and dedication. I know I’ve said this before, but I’m going to say it again. Because I come from a long line of people who lose their minds and repeat their senile blatherings. You’ll know I’ve truly lost it when you find me uttering much like my Nana did, “IS CAT FOOD MADE *FOR* CATS, OR *OF* CATS?!” while wearing nothing but evidence for the effects of gravity on the human body. For now, yeah, I’m just going to repeat this: I don’t envy the people involved in following up the first season of True Detective.

While development can be fraught with all kinds of challenges, there is one distinct advantage it brings with it that shows in production don’t always have: time. And certainly, in the run up to “True Detective,” everyone involved knew it was going to be a big undertaking, and thus, plans were made accordingly (even if it was still a time crunch). However, now that it’s a bonafide hit, that luxury of having a single director (which won’t be the case in season two) or even longer than a year to put it all together, has evaporated as HBO wants to keep their hit machine going.

“We promised, in a fit of madness, that every year would be different,” producer Scott Stephens said at the Produced By Conference (via Film School Rejects). “The idea was to fuse cinematic elements into a television program, to use the episodic format to tell finite stories every year with a beginning, middle and end. We hoped to attract talent that would normally not do television, because there’s no ongoing season-to-season commitment.”

Indeed, the limited commitment is what drew Matthew McConaughey to the gig in the first place, but the concept of a closed season and rotating leads now also presents an ongoing logistical problem.

“Now, after the completion of season 1, we’re left trying to replicate that model, while… we do have to get the show back on the air. We had well over two years to get the first season written, developed, into production and on the air,” Stephens continued. “We can’t sustain that moving forward, because they want a successful show back on the air. We’re now scratching our heads, digging deep and trying to develop a compelling story in a timely manner.”

And while that may sound like a bit of a panic, fans shouldn’t worry too much. Writer/creator Nic Pizzolatto has stated he already has the setting sorted out and even a couple of scripts in the can, with casting set to start within the next month. But will this rush to get to season 2 affect the quality of the writing or the tenor of the show? Time will tell, but it looks everyone is doing what they can to not only get it done, but keep the standards to what viewers are now expecting. [Play List]