Last weekend, the much anticipated teaser for the second season of the sleeper hit TV series “True Detective” was released.
Many fans were excited; others understandably were skeptical. Directed by the acclaimed Cary Fukunaga and co-starring Woody Harrelson and Michelle Monaghan, the show’s first season fueled Matthew McConaughey’s comeback and awards-sweep last year.
The second season has much to live up to – to say the least. Showrunner Nic Pizzolatto chose to film the show as an anthology (much like Ryan Murphy’s “American Horror Story”) in which each season’s plots and characters would be unrelated to and different from the last.
Season 2 trades Fukunaga for Justin Lin and a new cast of big names including Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Vince Vaughn, Taylor Kitsch and Kelly Reilly. Let’s take a look at the actors’ careers so far and whether we can expect them to live up to the hype generated by McConaughey and Harrelson.
Irish actor Farrell made his big Hollywood debut as Jesse James in “American Outlaws” (2001) and acted opposite Tom Cruise in the hit “Minority Report” (2002). But the actor’s public image and rise to A-list status soon was threatened when he got caught up in drug abuse and a leaked sex tape in 2002 and was attached to the blockbuster duds “Daredevil” (2003) and “Alexander” (2004). Since then, the character actor has managed to find small successes with “Phone Booth” (2003), “The New World” (2005), “In Bruges” (2008) and “Horrible Bosses” (2011).
Canadian actors McAdams and Kitsch both found popularity with younger audiences more than a decade ago. McAdams broke through as the school bitch in “The Hot Chick” (2002) and “Mean Girls” (2004), but since has transitioned to roles in grown-up comedies and romances such as “The Notebook” (2004), “Wedding Crashers” (2005), “Morning Glory” (2010), “Midnight in Paris” (2011) and “About Time” (2013). Playing the female lead in Pizzolatto’s crime series represents a big change in her career.
Kitsch was part of the main cast of the widely praised “Friday Night Lights” but has become the latest victim of box-office poison with “John Carter” (2012), “Battleship” (2012) and “Savages” (2012) sinking his chances of movie stardom. Returning to TV might be a good move for him.
The addition of Illinois-native Vaughn to the new “Detective” cast may have confused some at first, but the comedy star famous for movies like “Swingers” (1996) and “Old School” (2003) actually began his career in more serious films like “Rudy” (1993), “Clay Pigeons” (1998), “Return to Paradise” (1998) and “The Cell” (2000). If anyone in the new cast is going to have their own ‘McConaissance,’ it’s Vaughn.
The most underrated addition to the show is English actress Reilly, who made her American debut with an underappreciated performance in Robert Zemeckis’ “Flight” (2012) after years of side roles in films such as “Pride & Prejudice” (2005), “Me & Orson Welles” (2008) and “Sherlock Holmes” (2009).
“True Detective” is an example of how TV has been going through a big boom the last couple of years, not only in its storytelling but also in converting movie stars to the small screen. Whatever happens this summer season, one thing for sure is the cast and showmakers have potential to be far from boring.
mbianco@durangoherald.com. Megan Bianco is a movie reviewer and also contributes other entertainment-related features and articles.
