'True Detective' season 3 release date: Delay caused by another HBO drama?

Back in August, HBO gave word that "True Detective" season 3 could still happen. However, they decided to hold back one critical piece of information: When will the production start?

Apparently, while there are plans to give the anthology a new lease on life, it remains inactive because the network is focused on other things and creator Nic Pizzolato himself is busy with other things. This lays to rest incessant rumors that the crime drama has been canceled.

After all, it was HBO's new programming chief Casey Bloys himself who assured fans of "True Detective" that season 3 is still a possibility.

"It is not dead, but there's no take on a third season yet," Collider quotes him as saying to reporters during the Television Critics Association summer press tour.

Bloys then went on to say that for the third offering, HBO might hire another writer or new writers to take over Pizzolatto's job. It seems the latter will no longer take the lead for "True Detective" season 3 but he will help in any capacity as the installment is being developed.

Pizzolatto wrote all episodes of seasons 1 and 2, with Cary Fukunaga taking the help for season 1. The first season, which starred Matthew McCounaghey and Woody Harrelson, was received well by critics and viewers alike. However, when Fukunaga left the show, different directors handled each episode for season 2, which is probably why it wasn't as well-received by viewers.

There are speculations that "True Detective" season 3 will start production sometime in 2018. If Pizzolatto will be involved in its development, then perhaps the writer's new project will take precedence over the anthology crime drama's third installment.

Pizzolatto has been tasked to write the new HBO crime drama, "Perry Mason," which will star Robert Downey, Jr. If reports are to be believed, Pizzolatto wants to concentrate on this new drama first before he devotes time to the third season of "True Detective," and the network is agreeable to that.

With that said, it looks like it will take a while before fans get to watch episodes of "True Detective" season 3. In the meantime, keep coming back for more news and details about the show.