If there is one thing "True Detective" writer and creator Nic Pizzolato can say about the premise of the highly-anticipated season 2 of the hit crime drama, it is that it will be a completely different approach from the series' initial season.
The first season had cultural references here and there, mentioning Friedrich Nietzsche's flat circle and the Yellow King at some point. The literature-driven season helped authors like Robert W. Chambers and Thomas Ligotti boost sales of their work by merely broaching them.
But for those who enjoyed this foundation will have to adjust as Pizzolato dished to Wall Street Journal in an emailed statement that "there are no references or homages at all in True Detective Season 2" so fans might as well prepare to embrace the big change this early.
Speaking of which, Pizzolato also took time to clear up the growing notion that Rachel McAdams' role as Ani Bezzerides is a kind of homage, as her character shares the same surname with a late noir novelist and screenwriter from California, which also happens to be the setting of the new season.
"There is no A.I. Bezzerides influence or homage whatsoever," Pizzolato asserted. "I have seen the Jules Dassin film 'Thieves' Highway' but that is my sole exposure to his work. I saw the name in a California directory and liked it. That's it."
He added that the show will not be "putting [Bezzerides'] work in the spotlight" simply because his work has nothing to do with Pizzolato's.
McAdams will star with Taylor Kitsch, Vince Vaughn and Colin Farrell in season 2 of "True Detective." The series will focus on a murder that is involved in a "web of conspiracy and betrayal" and will premiere on June 12.
