True Detective Season 3 doesn’t technically have a formal greenlight from HBO, but the casting of Mahershala Ali with input from Deadwood director David Milch already has us back on board. Season 1 star Matthew McConaughey is also excited to see Ali take over the franchise, as only Matthew McConaughey could state.

Granted, McConaughey is no guardian of the franchise – having sat out the second year and expressed only vague openness to reprising the role of Rustin Cohle – the Dark Tower star told USA Today that Ali was a good way to get the franchise back on track. Not only that, but you can hear the vintage McConaughey in his quote:

I think it’s awesome. I worked with [Ali] on Free State [of Jones] and he’ll be a great fit, because I know whatever’s coming out of Nic’s writing mind, it’s heady and hardcore. It’s a very harsh reality. Mahershala’s got heavy feet. He’s grounded and rooted, and doesn’t have [an] attitude. There’s no room for attitude in Nic’s writing.

So far of True Detective Season 3, we know five scripts have already been submitted, with Deadwood boss David Milch joining Pizzolatto in an advisory capacity, though there’s no guarantee he’d act as showrunner in Pizzolatto’s stead. Pizzolatto maintains an overall development deal at HBO, which was most recently said to take the shape of a Perry Mason series with Robert Downey Jr. producing and starring, and it’s possible True Detective Season 3 could move forward without Pizzolatto’s direct involvement.

HBO will hopefully lock down the details soon, but is True Detective Season 3 shaping up? Do we want to see Rustin Cohle teaming up with Mahershala Ali’s character?

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