After the second season of HBO's anthology series True Detective received a drop in reviews, it was approved for the third season two years later. The third season is written by Nic Pizzolatto and directed by Jeremy Saulnier, Daniel Sackheim and Nic Pizzolatto. It is now scheduled to premiere on January 13, 2019 in the United States. The third season of True Detective tells a mysterious crime story spanning decades in the Ozarks. The plot of this season will be divided into three timelines. Mahershala Ali (who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for Moonlight) plays the protagonist Wayne Hays, a state police detective in the northwest district of Arkansas. Other starring actors include Carmen Ejogo, Stephen Dorff, Ray Fisher, Michael Greyeyes, Jon Tenney, Deborah Ayorinde, Rhys Wakefield, Sarah Gadon, Emily Nelson, Brandon Flynn, Michael Graziadei, Josh Hopkins and Jodi Balfour.