The first season of HBO's "True Detective" was one of the most unique seasons of television in recent memory. With spectacular acting, a sharp visual style and that signature gothic tone, it captured the attention of TV viewers in a way few series have been able to do. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the show's sophomore effort. Season two was a convoluted mess of nonsensical storylines and pinched dialogue. Following months of think pieces trying to explain where everything went wrong, HBO president Michael Lombardo has come and addressed the failure head on.
"When we tell somebody to hit an air date as opposed to allowing the writing to find its own natural resting place, when it's ready, when it's baked - we've failed," Lombardo told The Frame.
"And I think in this particular case, the first season of True Detective was something that Niz Pizzolato had been thinking about, gestating, for a long period of time," he continued. "He's a soulful writer. I think what we did was go, 'Great.' And I take the blame. I became too much of a network executive at that point. We had huge success. 'Gee, I'd love to repeat that next year.'"
Unlike other shows that employ entire staffs of writers, Pizzolato is the sole writer for "True Detective." Lombardo admits that putting a time limit on such a monumental ask was a mistake, saying he "set [Pizzolato] up. To deliver, in a very short time frame, something that became very challenging to deliver. That's not what that show is. He had to reinvent the wheel, so to speak. Find his muse. And so I think that's what I learned from it. Don't do that anymore.
"And I'd love to have the enviable certainty of knowing what my next year looks like. I could pencil things in. But I'm not going to start betting on them until the scripts are done," Lombardo concluded.
It is unknown at this time if HBO will greenlight a third season of "True Detective." Given Lombardo's comments, it may be some time until we get an answer to that question. Hopefully, Pizzolato has one more great season of television in him before HBO closes the door on "True Detective."
