"True Detective" season 3 lead star Mahershala Ali didn't have to do television. After his big Oscar win as Best Actor for "Moonlight" in 2017, the actor can afford to choose high profile projects for the big screen.
But Ali said that he agreed to do "True Detective" season 3 without even considering the platform. He told USA Today that it didn't matter if the project was going to be on the small screen because the material was better than any movie he could work on.
Ali will portray an Arkansas police officer named Wayne Hays who will follow up on the case of two missing children on "True Detective" season 3. The show will take place in three different timelines of Hays' life -- 1980, 1990 and 2015.
Creator and writer Nic Pizzolatto originally wrote the role of Hays as a Caucasian character. Ali, however, told Variety that he convinced the writer to change the lead character to an African-American policeman. He even showed Pizzolatto photos of his grandfather who was a former state police officer.
Ali believed that the show's story would bear more impact if the lead was black. It also allowed Pizzolatto to explore how detectives worked in at a time when racism was a lot more intense and rampant than it is today.
Ali believed that the show's story would bear more impact if the lead was black. It also allowed Pizzolatto to explore how detectives worked in at a time when racism was a lot more intense and rampant than it is today, so he agreed to Ali's suggestion.
Meanwhile, it took HBO some time to confirm "True Detective" for another installment. After season 2 ended its run in 2015 to dismal ratings and reviews, HBO decided to allow Pizzolatto more time to develop a new story.
"True Detective" season 3 will be set in the Ozarks swamps. The teasers to the series suggest that Hays may have a dangerous and mysterious past that could be tied to why the case of the missing children was never resolved.
The series will also feature Stephen Dorff as Hays' partner Roland West, Carmen Elogo as the school teacher Amelia Reardon and Ray Fisher as Hays' son. Mamie Gummer, Scoot McNairy and Jodi Balfour are some of the supporting cast members.
The new season will have eight episodes. It is set to premiere on HBO on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2019, at 9:00 p.m.
