Medium published a Q&A with True Detective creator and showrunner Nic Pizzolatto about what fans can expect from the upcoming second season, which stars Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams, and Taylor Kitsch. And while Pizzolatto hinted at a lot of fascinating themes, one statement broke the hearts of fans everywhere: Despite some early promises, there will be “no secret occult history of the U.S. transportation system” after all.


In fact the whole “occult” angle—which heavily influenced the first season, as well as crazed fans who are still out there hunting for a real-life Yellow King—has been dropped entirely. Pizzolatto explains:

That was a comment from very early in the process, and something I ended up discarding in favor of closer character work and a more grounded crime story. The complexity of the historical conspiracy first conceived detracted from the characters and their reality, I felt, and those characters are ultimately what have to shape the world and story. So I moved away from that.


Also gone is the gothic element of the first season, which Pizzolatto felt was “suggested by Louisiana’s coastal landscape,” but “didn’t feel appropriate” for the second season’s California setting. Nevertheless, he promises it will still feel very much like True Detective. “While there’s nothing occult in this season,” he added, “I think there’s a disconcerting psychology to this world, and its characters have other kinds of uncanny reality with which to contend.”

Pizzolatto also dropped some other tidbits about the new season, like:

As would be expected of an anthology series, there’s no connection between the stories and characters from season one, although the seasons do have “a deep, close bond in sensibility and vision, a similar soul.”

Original music plays a “much greater role” this season, and T-Bone Burnett developed several new songs, including the one that is used in the trailer

Unlike the first season, which explored a partner dynamic at two different points in time, the second season will have a linear structure, mostly because Pizzolatto is working with more characters. Plus he was interested in doing “something entirely new” and didn’t want to “lean on past conceits.”


So in conclusion, a lot of that stuff you loved about the first season of True Detective is gone, but you can expect more music and “uncanny” psychology. And while Pizzolatto doesn’t come right out and say it, fans can probably rest assured that the second season will still feature someone’s boobs.