True Detective® ©2015 Home Box Office, Inc. All rights reserved. HBO® and all related programs are the property of Home Box Office, Inc.

True Detective® ©2015 Home Box Office, Inc. All rights reserved. HBO® and all related programs are the property of Home Box Office, Inc.

True Detective's season three cast want to assure fans that the HBO series is going back to its roots.

The first season of True Detective with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards (and won one!), whereas the less said about the Vince Vaughn-starring second season, the better.

For its third outing, creator Nic Pizzolatto has crafted the story of an Arkansas police detective (Mahershala Ali) whose connection to a sinister missing persons case spans decades.

Netflix

Another of the new cast members is The Closer's Jon Tenney, who thinks that the third season will restore True Detective to its prior glory.

"I can't get into real specifics, but I think it does move a little bit in the direction of season one… a little bit more maybe than season two," Tenney told Observer.

"The scripts are just so compelling. Again, really moving. The company is great. I can't really say a whole lot, but I'm thrilled to be part of it and I think people are going to really dig it."

Jim Spellman/WireImage

(Jon Tenney)

While True Detective season three has attracted an impressive cast that includes Ray Fisher and Carmen Ejogo, there have already been worrying behind-the-scenes developments.

Last month, HBO announced that filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier had quit the show after only two episodes, despite having been planned to direct half of the season.

"Director and executive producer Jeremy Saulnier has completed the first two episodes of True Detective season three and will be departing the production due to scheduling issues," an HBO rep said at the time.

"[Game of Thrones and Walking Dead's] Daniel Sackheim has come on board as a director and executive producer for the series alongside series creator and director Nic Pizzolatto."

True Detective airs on Sky Atlantic in the UK and HBO in the US.

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