Another week, another set of rumors to fill the void left by True Detective. Fans of the dark HBO drama continue to speculate on what the second season will be about and who will be in it. Amid rumors that Elisabeth Moss will be one of the cast, the actress has mastered the non-denial denial. With little else to talk about, fans are now opining on the opening credits. Now, though, comes news that might genuinely upset fans: the show’s tone will still be dark, just not as dark as some might like.
HBO head honcho Michael Lombardo says that the show is “not as dark, but it’s not a light ride.” Lombardo reminded the audience at the Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival that the show’s creator Nic Pizzolato “likes looking into the crevices of the soul.” Of course “still dark” is a relative term after the show’s first season, which explored child killing and the lure of the occult in the Louisiana backwoods, and which made the karmic tagline “touch darkness, and darkness touches you back” a thing, but hardcore fans who were let down by the final episode may have cause to worry. Indeed, the darkest thing about the new season may well be Colin Farrell’s eyebrows. Perhaps the second season’s not-as-dark tone (shall we just say medium-dark? grey?) is influenced by all the California sunshine. Filming of the second season begins in the Golden State in September.