Confirming the Internet’s hunch, and thereby validating the Internet’s belief that it would make a pretty good detective, Entertainment Weekly reports that HBO has officially cast Rachel McAdams and Taylor Kitsch in the second season of True Detective. McAdams has been widely reported as the favorite for the main female role since September, whereas Kitsch has been spinning around the rumor wheel since July. Today’s casting news does offer a bit of new information, though, as Black Box (and Heaven Is For Real) star Kelly Reilly has been cast in a supporting role as Frank Semyon (Vince Vaughn)’s wife Jordan.
McAdams and Kitsch’s co-stars Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn were confirmed long ago—the show has moved on to casting minor characters at this point—so all that’s left to discover at this point is character names and what they really mean. Here are HBO’s official character descriptions:
- Rachel McAdams as Ani Bezzerides, a Ventura County Sheriff’s detective whose uncompromising ethics put her at odds with others and the system she serves.
- Taylor Kitsch as Paul Woodrugh, a war veteran and motorcycle officer for the California Highway Patrol, running from a difficult past and the sudden glare of a scandal that never happened.
So Kitsch will be rough-hewn and prone to splinters, while McAdams…needs to see stuff better? These and other mysteries will be deepened, then revealed, when the second season of True Detective premieres next year.