Perfect Casting: Elisabeth Moss Sought for 'True Detective' Season 2 as Plot Details Emerge

Perfect casting alert! Anyone who saw Mad Men star Elisabeth Moss in the moody, foreboding cop drama Top of the Lake knows she can handle some heavy and grim material. She was nominated (and probably should have won) for an Emmy for her work on the acclaimed miniseries, and now Moss could be venturing into similar territory as part of HBO's second season of True Detective. Like I said; perfect friggin' casting.

The Wrap reports Moss is being sought for the female lead, one of three lead characters in the show's follow-up season, although writer/creator Nic Pizzolatto has said there will be for major ones in total. Colin Farrell is close to inking a deal to play one of them, while Taylor Kitsch is the frontrunner for the younger male lead. Last night Vince Vaughn's name emerged and he's set to play the show's primary antagonist, although it's stressed this doesn't make him the storyline's ultimate villain.

Also, some major plot details have finally been spilled and they do seem to reflect the Chinatown-esque story Pizzolatto hinted at before. The story will "follow the death of Ben Caspar, the corrupt city manager of a fictional California city who's found brutally murdered amid a potentially groundbreaking transportation deal that would forever change freeway gridlock in the state. Three law enforcement officers from different cities and branches of the government are tasked with finding out who did it. They soon discover their investigation has much broader and darker implications than they initially thought....Caspar's 52-year-old corpse is found on a lonely stretch of Pacific Coast Highway near Big Sur — satanic symbols etched on his chest. It turns out he had a penchant for rough sex and may have been involved in the occult."

If everything comes together Vaughn would be playing "Frank Semyon, a former thug-turned-businessman who's working with a local mayor and his political cohorts to spearhead the construction of a high-speed railway system"; Farrell is "Ray Velcoro, who has been damaged by years of turmoil in both his personal and professional lives"; Moss would be "Ani Bezzerides, a tough, no-nonsense Monterey sheriff whose troubled upbringing has driven her to gambling and alcohol"; and Kitch is circling the role of "Paul Woodrugh, a handsome, 28-year-old military veteran who has seen his own share of violence and destruction." It's also said that Michelle Forbes, one of my favorite actresses who appeared in the first season of The Killing and was a main villain on True Blood, is up for a role possibly as the wife of Vaughn or Farrell's characters. Check out her out in the movie Kalifornia, which has a tone similar to True Detective in a lot of ways.

There's still some question which directors will helming episodes as Cary Fukunaga won't be returning. This season will see multiple directors get their shot, and apparently Andrew Dominik (Killing Them Softly) has been approached, but he may be too busy working on Blonde with Jessica Chastain.

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'True Detective' Season 2 Targets Colin Farrell and Taylor Kitsch

With HBO's True Detective scoring a monumental 12 Emmy nominations just yesterday, there has understandably been even more talk about the series' second season than ever. Writer Nic Pizzolatto, who is penning all the scripts for each episode himself, has been especially chatty, revealing to The Daily Beast that it will have four central roles rather than three like he had been saying. And he also toned down the idea of it looking at the history of the Los Angeles transportation system, only revealing it would be "set in California". Okay, play it cool, Nic. 

What everybody really wants to know is who will take on the difficult task of living up to Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey's performances. Rumors have linked Jessica Chastain, Brad Pitt, Josh Brolin, and more, but now The Wrap reports Colin Farrell is in talks for one of the leads. And not only that, but Taylor Kitsch is being eyed for the younger male lead.  The story says producers wanted another big name star who could play "gritty", and Farrell does fit the bill. He's also a guy who could use something like this to rebuild his status which has taken a hit after Total Recall and Winter's Tale bombed. He's also someone who has proven he can handle the dramatic stuff when called upon. And HBO obviously has a familiarity with Kitsch after he turned in a gripping performance in The Normal Heart.

I'll be honest with you, I was kind of hoping Ben Foster would be in this season but maybe he'll take one of the remaining roles.

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Season Two of 'True Detective' Will Have Three Leads; Will Be Set in California

Has there ever been so much concern and speculation over casting as there has been surrounding True Detective's second season? That's what happens when you come out the box with a cast led by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson; expectations are going to be incredibly high. What we know is that both actors are out, and that Cary Fukunaga won't be directing, replaced by what is likely to be multiple filmmakers. We've also heard season two will follow “hard women, bad men and the secret occult history of the United States transportation system.” And while one of those "hard women" won't be Jessica Chastain as many hoped (including myself), writer/producer Nic Pizzolatto did drop some new details while on the To the Best Of Our Knowledge podcast.

Pizzolatto: “Right now, we’re working with three leads. It takes place in California. Not Los Angeles, but some of the lesser known venues of California and we’re going to try to capture a certain psychosphere ambience of the place, much like we did with season one.” 

He also reiterated that all of the characters will be new and that the entire season has been broken out with a couple of scripts in the can. While HBO hasn't officially renewed True Detective, we know it will be coming back because "time is a flat circle" or something.

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Season finale of 'True Detective' gets an utterly stress-inducing teaser

I am an insanely obsessed True Detective person, and I'm not ashamed! I read its Reddit page compulsively. I follow way too many Tumblrs that post gif after gif after gif of each episode. And next week, when this first season with Woody Harrelson and your new winner of the Best Actor Oscar Matthew "All right, all right, all right" McConaughey ends, I will be DESPONDENT. Because True Detective may be the best show on TV right now and I can't even imagine how season two could get any better.

If you're watching, you know all the plot threads that have to be tied up - the Yellow King, Carcosa, if Marty's (Harrelson's character) daughter Audrey had anything to do with those creepy men in terrifying animal masks - and you also know that last night's episode already revealed some major plot points we've been building up to for weeks. And, if you need to whet your appetite a bit more, check out the teaser below for the season finale. IS THAT RUST TIED UP ON THAT BED? WHAT IS GOING ON? I AM VERY STRESSED OUT

Join me in being stressed. Next Sunday on the PunchDrunkCritics podcast we'll discuss our theories about how the show is going to wrap up; be sure to listen in. Until then, I'll be over here working on my devil's nest.

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Matthias Schoenaerts Leads 'Galveston'; David Oyelowo and Catalina Moreno Join 'A Most Violent Year'

* It's a double-dose of good news for True Detective writer, Nic Pizzolatto. Not only has he signed a two-year deal with HBO and has begun work drafting a second season of his hit series, but his breakthrough novel Galveston is headed to the big screen with a powerful leading man. Deadline reports Matthias Schoenaerts (Rust and Bone) will star in the gritty drama to be directed by Janus Metz (Armadillo), centering on Roy Cady, who is diagnosed with a terminal illness on the same day he senses that his boss wants him dead. Walking into a death trap, Roy gets the better of his would-be killers, and takes two sisters he finds hiding in the apartment and makes a run for Galveston.

* Fresh off adding Albert Brooks to the excellent cast of A Most Violent Year, J.C. Chandor is making it even better with Catalina Sandino Moreno and David Oyelowo. The two will join stars Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, and Alfred Molina in the 1981 New York thriller about the owners of a heating oil business whose growth ambitions put them at odds with the criminal element. Filming begins tomorrow which might explain the sudden casting surge.

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