The most recent hints about the shape of True Detective season two came out today as Deadline reported that Justin Lin, director of Fast and Furious 6, is in talks to direct the season. HBO has declined to comment, as they have with every rumor that’s circulated so far, but if confirmed, Justin Lin is an exciting pick for the second season.
But the Deadline article contained another kernel of information that might reveal the underpinnings of next season’s plot. True Detective is moving from Louisiana to California.
Why does this matter? Well, back in March the show’s creator Nic Pizzolatto revealed that the second season would be about “hard women, bad men and the secret occult history of the United States transportation system.” While this may seem vague, the combination of occult transportation systems and a California setting is as much of a tell as the word “Carcosa” was in season one. There is strong reason to believe that season two will be about the Trystero.
Thomas Pynchon’s postmodern novella The Crying of Lot 49 is an ideal inspiration for True Detective. It would maintain all the deeply-ingrained conspiracy of the first season while translating the Southern Gothic decay into suburban desperation. It even has a prominent symbol for Pizzolatto to transform as he layers another mind-bending paranoia onto the many blighted landscapes America has to offer.
