True Detective aired season two on HBO last summer, and it was expected to be a big hit after the success of the first season starring Matthew McConaughey. However, season two did not deliver that same success. Season two starred Rachel McAdams and Colin Farrell. Two big Hollywood names, but the series did not pack as large a punch.
Now, HBO President of Programming, Michael Lombardo, is speaking out about True Detective season two, and he is blaming the lack of success for the series on himself.
According to Indiewire, he said the following in a recent interview:
“Our biggest failures — and I don’t know if I would consider ‘True Detective 2’ — but 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. And I think in this particular case, the first season of ‘True Detective’ was something that Nic Pizzolatto had been thinking about, gestating, for a long period of time. 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.’ Well, you know what? I set him up. To deliver, in a very short time frame, something that became very challenging to deliver,” he continued. “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.”
Did HBO rush the second season of True Detective? Did you enjoy the second season? If you didn’t, what did not work for you? Tell us what you think.
I loved season 1 and season 2. Both different stories with completely different settings and plots. I hope another season occurs. I thought season 2’s ending was cool because everything seemed to fall apart for just about everyone. Which makes it realistic in my opinion.
Season 1 was by far WAY better then season 2. Please consider future seasons of this series without pressuring the writers to make short cuts. And it would be be wonderful if the future seasons found a way to tie the previous seasons together with the elite secret cult/abuse thread. It makes it so much more interesting then just plain old Russian mobsters!
I loved season 2, season 1 not really…Season 2 was the real world, how things really are in that world. That is what I loved about it. No fantasy, real honest cop stuff that happens. Would love seeing more of this
As soon as I saw Vince Vaughn’s name, I knew Season 2 would SUCK. The other actors were excellent, but wasted any time Vaughn is chewing the scenery. The writing my have been a bit off, as the story says, but the true criminals in season two were the Casting Directors!
I really liked season 2 of “True Detective”, It was well written, well acted, by some top notch actors, and had some great action shootout sequences; that being said, I think the big problem was the killing off of nearly the entire cast in the season finale, because the majority of viewers didn’t realize,(which they should have, from season 1}, that it was a series that changed casts from season to season, The lesson here is that people don’t like seeing everybody die in the end; a good example being “Heavens Gate,” an excellent period piece, which was visually stunning,… Read more »
Season 2 was good but it was not on par with season one. it felt rushed and i am glad HBO admitted they screwed up and can move forward and learn from this mistake.
I agree season 2 did NOT come anywhere near the first. I think it’s because the first season had an element of “erieness” the 2nd season lacked. I remember the hair on the back of my neck standing stright-up on several occasions during season one (1). My opinion, thanks …
i liked the second season. it was completely different from the first and i think the actors took their roles to the places they had to go. the writing was good and since it didn’t end happily it probably didn’t appeal to the mainstream. of course we always want a happy ending but have to settle for what we get and such is life. i also liked that it was completey different from the first and you never knew what choices the characters were going to make. i am not in the 18-39 age group so i guess who cares… Read more »
The first season was fantastic! It was exciting and intriguing and kept me on the edge of my seat. Season two was a bit of a let down because the excitement wasn’t there…….I like the whodunit factor. I loved the actors, so I kept hoping it would eventually live up to season one, but it never did. I especially love Kelly Reilly and hope she can find her niche. I also hope you take your time and come up with a more intriguing story line.
It’s nice to see an executive realize their mistake and learn from it. I wish more network executives would do the same, instead of always cancelling right away and moving on to the next thing.