HBO may not be ready to give up on the noir anthology series True Detective yet. The network has extended its overall deal with creator Nic Pizzolatto through 2018, which includes a number of projects in addition to a potential third season of the divisive show. But if True Detective is going to return to HBO, the network wants Pizzolatto to make some changes to how he runs his series.

After the spectacular highs of Season 1, Season 2 of the crime series was almost universally panned by critics. Pizzolatto is a rare show-runner who also writes every episode of the show. “Nobody does that,” Season 2 star Vince Vaughn told Vanity Fair in July. “That’s insane.” Pizzolatto’s unique approach worked quite well for Season 1, likely because he had started writing it way back in July 2010. Three and a half years of work produced the stellar Matthew McConaughey/Woody Harrelson–led season which also benefited from strong artistic input from director Cary Fukunaga. Then Pizzolatto, working without Fukunaga, only had 14 months after the end of Season 1 to conceive and execute the weaker second season of True Detective.

Variety reports that should the show get a third season, HBO would want Pizzolatto to make some changes that could include hiring a staff of writers or having someone new come in for the position of show-runner. Either way, Pizzolatto would retain an executive-producer credit on the series.

But it’s unclear whether the True Detective creator would be comfortable with relinquishing that measure of control. He told Vanity Fair: “I work more efficiently on my own. I suppose it’s that ingrained authorial sensibility: if I’m making a movie or a show or whatever, I’m expressing something on a personal level or else it doesn’t mean anything to me. If I’m doing that, it works better without a committee.” If that’s the case, his future collaborations with HBO may not include a third season of True Detective after all.