HBO’s True Detective captured the attention of the masses in a way that I’m not quite sure that any other recent series has. Not only did the show’s inaugural season win over critics and audiences, it also inspired a plethora of memes that would spread across social media like a wild fire. When it was announced that the second season of the show would focus on new characters and would feature a new cast, #TrueDetectiveSeason2 memes took over Twitter and would live on well past the casting of the new season.
With its second season rapidly approaching its premiere date of June 21st, HBO has released its first teaser for the highly anticipated series. But this is purely a teaser – nothing within the video to give us further context into the show’s new characters or central mystery. There is, however, an official synopsis which gives names to the new cast of characters:
A bizarre murder brings together three law-enforcement officers and a career criminal, each of whom must navigate a web of conspiracy and betrayal in the scorched landscapes of California. Colin Farrell is Ray Velcoro, a compromised detective in the all-industrial City of Vinci, LA County. Vince Vaughn plays Frank Semyon, a criminal and entrepreneur in danger of losing his life’s work, while his wife and closest ally (Kelly Reilly), struggles with his choices and her own. Rachel McAdams is Ani Bezzerides, a Ventura County Sheriff’s detective often at odds with the system she serves, while Taylor Kitsch plays Paul Woodrugh, a war veteran and motorcycle cop for the California Highway Patrol who discovers a crime scene which triggers an investigation involving three law enforcement groups, multiple criminal collusions, and billions of dollars.
Justin Lin of the Fast & Furious films directed the first two episodes of the new season, so this might be a big departure from the previous season of True Detective. And while there are no concerns as to whether or not Colin Farrell or Rachel McAdams can lead the series, there is one linger question that hangs over the second season of True Detective: Can audiences accept Vince Vaughn not playing a half-animal, part-party machine? That question will be answered on June 21st at 10pm on HBO.
