HBO's True Detective season 3 has wrapped filming in Fayetteville, Arkansas, ahead of its premiere at an as-yet unannounced date in 2019. Best Supporting Actor Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) is headlining the third season of the crime anthology TV show, with series creator Nic Pizzolatto once again writing every episode.

According to the official synopsis, True Detective season 3 will unfold across three different time periods as it tells "the story of a macabre crime in the heart of the Ozarks". Ali is joined by a cast of top-tier character actors that includes Carmen Ejogo (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), Ray Fisher (Justice League) and Mamie Gummer (The Collection), as well as Scoot McNairy (Godless) and Stephen Dorff (Star) in smaller roles. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the camera, Pizzolatto split directorial responsibilities with Jeremy Saulnier (Green Room) and Daniel Sackheim (The Americans) for the show's new season.

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True Detective season 3 wrapped production in Fayetteville this month, as was reported exclusively by the city's own Fayetteville Flyer. In an interview that aired on Fayetteville's PBS affiliate AETN, Pizzolatto revealed that he used to live in the city and described the setting as being very much a "character" in the narrative for season 3. Ali agreed with the showrunner and noted that season 3 carries an air of authenticity that it wouldn't have possessed otherwise, had it not been filmed on-location:

“It would have been a disservice to the story to not shoot it in the Ozarks, in Fayetteville or in Arkansas. Because it is such a character in the story. It would have been such a shame if we had shot it any other place.”

True Detective

Going by Pizzolatto and Ali's comments and the synopsis, True Detective season 3 will bear a closer resemblance to season 1 in its narrative structure and emphasis on setting than season 2 did. That only makes sense, seeing as those were two key ingredients that helped make season 1 (a Louisiana-set serial killer investigation drama that spans nearly twenty years) a critical hit, in combination with the acclaimed performances from co-leads Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey. By comparison, the mostly-derided season 2 cast a wider net in terms of characters and scale, but to noticeably diminished returns.

Arguably, True Detective season 2 also suffered from having seven directors try to craft a cohesive vision of its California noir setting and backdrop - unlike season 1's picture of the South, which was handled solely by filmmaker Cary Fukunaga. Hence, the hope is season 3 won't prove to be another case of too many cooks in the kitchen and instead succeed in painting a consistent portrait of the Ozarks (even with three people calling the shots). The show's creator was further allotted more time to write season 3 than he had on season 2 - which, in combination with said great cast led by Ali, should only help him to avoid striking out again in his third time at-bat.

MORE: Woody Harrelson Not Interested in More True Detective

True Detective season 3 is slated to premiere in 2019 on HBO.

Source: Fayetteville Flyer