Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss Eyed For True Detective Season 2

When consider female leads for the second season of True Detective, Elisabeth Moss seems like a really obvious choice. Not only has she played a detective before, but she's a fantastic actor and would be an asset to the HBO anthology series in any role. So the rumor that she's being eyed for the female lead in Season 2 isn't surprising, but it's a great report nonetheless.

This report comes from The Wrap, which notes that the Mad Men star is being sought to play the female lead. The Killing's Michelle Forbes is also said to be up for a role.

Here's where things get a bit more spoilery, so if you don't want to know character and plot details for Season 2, read no further!

According to The Wrap, the role Moss is up for is Ani Bezzerides, "a tough, no-nonsense Monterey sheriff whose troubled upbringing has driven her to gambling and alcohol." Sounds like an interesting character for someone like Moss to tackle, especially when we consider her portrayal of the more-or-less put together Peggy in Mad Men.

As for Forbes, it sounds like she could end up playing either Farrell's ex-wife, who's a survivor of sexual assault, or Vaughn's "charming but mercurial wife." The Wrap's info goes on to detail the other lead characters and their basic information. The second season is said to involve the brutal murder of a corrupt city manager, who was involved in some kind of groundbreaking transportation deal that could be the cure California of its gridlock troubles. Based on the character description for the role Vince Vaughn is in talks to play, it sounds like that may be high-speed railway system that would link the southern and northern ends of the state. Vaughn's (potential) character is some kind of reformed criminal -- or "former thug-turned-businessman" -- who's involved in the deal.

Taylor Kitsch is in the running to play one of the three detectives, a 28-year-old military vet. And Colin Farrell is said to be nearing a deal to star as another of the three detectives.

It sounds like series' cast is really taking shape, and all signs point toward it being a very talented shape, assuming all of these talks lead to official casting. As The Wrap notes, HBO hasn't confirmed any of this yet, but hopefully all of these reports amount to some official confirmation soon. In the meantime, the latest updates and this character information gives us a lot to consider as we anticipate the second season.

Created by Nic Pizzolatto, True Detective debuted its first season in January 2014 and has since earned itself 12 Emmy nominations, including a nomination for Outstanding Drama Series and two for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, for Season 1 stars Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey. The second season will center on a new mystery and feature a new cast.

Kelly West
Assistant Managing Editor

Kelly joined CinemaBlend as a freelance TV news writer in 2006 and went on to serve as the site’s TV Editor before moving over to other roles on the site. At present, she’s an Assistant Managing Editor who spends much of her time brainstorming and editing feature content on the site. She an expert in all things Harry Potter, books from a variety of genres (sci-fi, mystery, horror, YA, drama, romance -- anything with a great story and interesting characters.), watching Big Brother, frequently rewatching The Office, listening to Taylor Swift, and playing The Sims.