True Detective season 3 trailer: Mahershala Ali heads up return of acclaimed HBO drama

The series will focus on a murder investigation spanning three decades

HBO has finally released the first trailer for the upcoming third season of True Detective.

The anthology series returns January 2019 and sees Mahershala Ali and Carmen Ejogo assuming the two lead roles. The trailer (which you can watch above) confirms previous reports that the show – which has relocated to the Ozarks – will be split into three time periods spanning 30 years.

Ali, who won an Oscar for his supporting turn in 2017 drama Moonlight, plays Wayne Hays, an Arkansas detective at the heart of a murder investigation. Stephen Dorff takes on the role of his partner, Roland West.

Green Room director Jeremy Saulnier has directed the first two episodes with Daniel Sackheim and show-runner Niz Pizzalatto overseeing the final six. They follow in the footsteps of Cary Joji Fukunaga and Justin Lin who directed episodes in the first and second seasons, respectively.

True Detective earned acclaim with its Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey-starring debut season, released in 2014. Its divisive follow-up – starring Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams and Vince Vaughn – premiered the following year.

The series will return to HBO and Sky Atlantic in January 2019.