When it was announced that True Detective’s second season would take place in California, fans of the HBO crime anthology knew exactly what to expect: Complex mysteries, neo-noir mood, and tons of fun in the Golden State sun. Now HBO confirms that the tale of Ray Velcoro, Frank Semyon, Ani Bezzerides, and Paul Woodrugh will mark the start of the greatest summer of those characters’ lives, with a season premiere set for June 21. Grab your surfboard and break out the bathing suits, because this year, HBO subscribers (and the people who borrow their HBO Go passwords) will be swimming in a gentle sea of “of conspiracy and betrayal in the scorched landscapes of California.” And you know what scorches those landscapes, right? None other than the big, yellow monarch shining down on the season’s first teaser trailer: Mr. Sun.
The announcement of the premiere date was also accompanied with a first look at the good-time gang who’ll be pilin’ into Nic Pizzolatto’s Woodie and headin’ to the place that The Mamas And Papas used to dream about. And, like a lot of dreams, there’s a monster at the end, as well as Colin Farrell as “compromised” police officer Ray Velcoro, whose name indicates that he loves catching rays as much as he loves catching crooks.
Frank Semyon is a shady entrepreneur played by Vince Vaughn. By the looks of the festive wardrobe he’s wearing below and the real-estate development he’s hawking in the teaser, Frank just wants to share the Land of Milk and Honey with other wishful thinkers like himself.
Rachel McAdams’ Ani Bezzerides butts heads with her business-as-usual colleagues at the Ventura County Sheriff’s department. It’s a job that prevents the detective from enjoying bodacious local pastimes like hiking through the hills of Ojai or examining the pictographs at Burro Flats Painted Cave for evidence of ritualistic murders committed in service of a malevolent godhead.
Taylor Kitsch rounds out the cast as war veteran-turned-motorcycle cop Paul Woodrugh. His grizzled exterior and involvement in “an investigation involving three law enforcement groups, multiple criminal collusions, and billions of dollars” suggest that he could use a vacation. Has Paul Woodrugh perhaps considered the sandy beaches and agreeable climate of California?
Yes he has, because Paul Woodrugh, just like True Detective’s second season, is going to California. California, here he comes, right back where he started from, because time is a flat circle.