If you, like so many of us, are a big fan of “True Detective” (which hit DVD and Blu-ray this week), you’d better savor what you have and what’s still to come, because it appears that the show isn’t going to be one of those that goes on for years and years. Some were taken by surprise (even though it had always been announced as such) when they realized that the series was an anthology show, switching up characters, cast and setting for each season and telling an entirely new self-contained story. But disappointment at not getting to spend more time with Rust and Marty was countered by the sense of possibility: it’s a show that could theoretically run forever.
But the show’s creator and writer, Nic Pizzolatto has other ideas. At the Banff World Media Festival, he told the Calgary Herald, via Defamer, that he doesn’t really have plans for the show to last beyond a third season. “I can’t imagine I would do this more than three years,” he reportedly said. “I mean, I’d like to have a regular TV show. We’ll have some fixed sets, regular actors and I could bring in people to help and I don’t have to be there every second. It’d be great.”
And he says that it’s the very anthology nature of the show that means he thinks it has a shelf life. “It can’t have any growing pains like a regular first season. If it works it has to work right out of the box. That’s incredibly exhausting. I mean, the job is exhausting to begin with, but it’s doubly exhausting and I’m writing every episode.”
The idea of starting from scratch every time is certainly a terrifying one, especially given the enormous praise for the first season, which makes it a difficult act for follow. But it’s possible that he’ll change his mind by the time that season three ends, or even that HBO will be reluctant to give up the valuable brand, and persuade him to let another writer, or writers, have a crack. So do you sympathize with Pizzolatto? Would you rather that the show burnt brightly but briefly? Or would you watch “True Detective” until the end of time? Let us know your thoughts below.