After two years of snooping around, it looks like the HBO series True Detective was unable to find one key thing – enough viewers to result in a third season.
THR.com is reporting that the Emmy-winning show ended up on the chopping block following a lackluster second season. It noted that “HBO sources suggest a new project from creator Nic Pizzolatto is more likely (than a renewal of True Detective).”
The program saw a general decline in ratings over the course of its most recent year, with its lowest numbers (2.18 million) coming in the penultimate episode. Season One, on the other hand, drew its highest viewership of the year (3.52 million) in its finale.
True Detective was a critical darling its first season, which featured Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, but the transition to the new cast of Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn fell flat. HitFix“s TV maven Alan Sepinwall called it an “overall mess” and “ridiculous.” And he was far from the only critic to pan it, as Time and Variety said things like “[it”s] going nowhere interesting” and “[it”s] by-the-numbers.”