Jeremy Saulnier leaves True Detective after directing 2 episodes

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

True Detective Matthew McConaughey

While I haven't gotten around to watching the second season of the HBO series True Detective yet, I loved the show's first season and have been looking forward to the upcoming third with great anticipation because it was set to be co-directed by a filmmaker I'm a big fan of, MURDER PARTY / BLUE RUIN / GREEN ROOM's Jeremy Saulnier.

My enthusiasm for the new season has just dropped a certain percentage with the news that it's going to have a lower percentage of episodes directed by Saulnier than originally intended.

Although the total episode count isn't known, it has been said that Saulnier was going to split them evenly with series creator Nic Pizzolatto, who will be making his directorial debut. After completing just two episodes, Saulnier has now left the series and will be replaced by veteran television director Daniel Sackheim.

HBO's official statement on the director shake-up: 

Director and executive producer Jeremy Saulnier has completed the first two episodes of True Detective season 3 and will be departing the production due to scheduling issues. Daniel Sackheim has come on board as a director and executive producer for the series alongside series creator and director Nic Pizzolatto."

Saulnier simply posted "No comment" on his Twitter account… which seems to indicate he left the series over a bigger conflict than simple scheduling issues.

Written by Pizzolatto (with Deadwood's David Milch earning a co-writing credit on one episode), True Detective season 3 is about 

a macabre crime in the heart of the Ozarks, and a mystery that deepens over decades and plays out in three separate time periods.

This season of the anthology series stars Mahershala Ali, Carmen Ejogo, Stephen Dorff, Scoot McNairy, Mamie Gummer, Ray Fisher, Rhys Wakefield, Michael Greyeyes, Jon Tenney, Sarah Gadon, and Emily Nelson.

True Detective season 3 is expected to start airing on HBO sometime in 2019. At least there will still be two Saulnier episodes in it.

True Detective is executive produced by Scott Stephens, Matthew McConaughey (pictured above in season 1), Woody Harrelson, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Steve Golin, Bard Dorros, Richard Brown, Saulnier, Pizzolato (who is also the showrunner), and now Sackheim.

Source: THR

About the Author

Cody is a news editor and film critic, focused on the horror arm of JoBlo.com, and writes scripts for videos that are released through the JoBlo Originals and JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channels. In his spare time, he's a globe-trotting digital nomad, runs a personal blog called Life Between Frames, and writes novels and screenplays.