‘True Detective’ Season 3 Trailer: Mahershala Ali Revives Season 1 Memories in Haunting First Footage

Prior to the series finale of “Sharp Objects,” those watching HBO Sunday night were given a sneak peek at the next dark, sweaty, mystery from the premium cable network: “True Detective” Season 3.

The first trailer — which sets a January 2019 release date — shows flashes of Mahershala Ali‘s Wayne Hays, a state police detective from Northwest Arkansas, in three different time periods. An older, gray-haired glimpse of Hays finds him in pain, perhaps still suffering from a crime he investigated in the Ozarks when he was younger.

Co-stars Carmen Ejogo, Mamie Gummer, and Scoot McNairy (and his mustache!) also appear, but the big takeaway seems to be: “Hey! It’s Season 1 again!” From the separate timelines to the golden fields to the rural setting in general, Nic Pizzolatto’s third search for the truest detective evokes a lot of memories from his Emmy-winning collaboration with Cary Fukunaga, rather than his poorly received follow-up. Even the release date is in line with Season 1’s January debut, as opposed to Season 2’s summer release.

Season 3 is directed by Jeremy Saulnier (“Blue Ruin”), Pizzolatto, and Daniel Sackheim (“The Leftovers”), the latter of whom came on board after Saulnier left the production due to scheduling conflicts. Here’s the official logline, courtesy of HBO:

The next installment of True Detective tells the story of a macabre crime in the heart of the Ozarks, and a mystery that deepens over decades and plays out in three separate time periods.

“True Detective” Season 3 is slated to premiere in January 2019. Watch the first trailer below.