4. The Character Breakdowns
Those coming to True Detective for the whodunit may have been a little put out. Whilst the overarching mystery of the first series was interesting and ended in a satisfying (if in a non-showy or predictably twisty) way, the real meat of the show was the people involved. It was less of a plot-heavy crime thriller and more of a character-driven drama, exploring the psychology of homicide detectives Marty and Rust, and how dealing with the more depraved elements of humanity affected them. By making them horny and pessimistic, respectively, basically. What we're getting at is that the characters are the most important thing, so it's a good thing we've got some rumours about them as well.
Unofficial" breakdowns for the second season's cast - the same ones that named Jessica Chastain as the model for one of the women character - listed the three leads as a fortysomething male detectives/cops with Joaquin Phoenix, Christian Bale and Josh Brolin as prototypes, with a twentysomething male cop and a thirtysomething female detective (the Chastain one) coming up behind. Which is a pretty big change from the two leads of the original, this time apparently opting for more an ensemble piece. What does that mean? Is the whole tone going to feel a little different? Are these characters going to be less well-drawn than first time around? Are there enough parts to go around to all the rumoured actors? We'll soon see.