HBO announced at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that Mahershala Ali will indeed star in the third season ofÂ True Detective and that they are currently courting directors. Five scripts are in so far, and HBO boss Casey Bloys thinks they’re terrific.https://twitter.com/thesurfreport/status/890333606463156224https://twitter.com/ChrisHayner/status/890333588859666433The only thing True Detective fans like to do more than complain about the show’s second season is to fantasy cast a potential season three. Well, if the latest rumors are true then HBO will be making its viewers very happy, because Academy Award winner (and Luke Cage villain)Â Mahershala Ali might be the next actor to enter its strange world of cops and creepy masks. The Tracking Board reports that Ali is close to signing on to star in season three of the HBO series, though nothing is official. This news comes despite creator Nic Pizzolatto’s show not technically being picked up for another season yet. But if this is true, and Ali, whose Oscar win for Moonlight was more than deserved, is already deep in talks to sign on, than it would seem HBO is intent on doingÂ more.Another season has been far from a guarantee after the critically panned second season of the show not only failed to live up to the excellent first (which starred incredible performances by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson), but was a total mess unto itself.(I mean, I love season two, like a t-ball coach who got all of the non-athletes and just keeps rooting for them even though I know it is hopeless, and even I still don’t really know who the hell freaking Stan was.)So why would Ali want to star in year three of True Detective after last season’s disaster? He could probably pick any project in Hollywood he wanted to right now; why pick a potential dud? It’s probably due in part to the glowing reviews of season one, as well as the fact that despite all of season two’s problems, the acting was not among them. Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Taylor Kitsch, and Vince Vaughn were the only good parts of season two.We’ve reached out to HBO, but as of this writing have not heard back. If we do we’ll update this story.So now True Detective fans can stop complaining about season two so much and just focus on fantasy casting the rest of the new season. In fact, tell us in our comments below who else you’d like to see join Mahershala Ali on the show.

Featured Image: Netflix/MarvelTrue Detective Images: HBO