TV True Detective season 3 casts Fantastic Beasts actress as female lead Carmen Ejogo to star alongside Mahershala Ali in acclaimed drama's next outing By James Hibberd James Hibberd James Hibberd is the former editor at large at Entertainment Weekly. He left EW in 2021. EW's editorial guidelines Published on November 17, 2017 09:30PM EST Photo: Andrew Toth/FilmMagic The third season of HBO’s True Detective has found its female lead. After a significant search with several major names under consideration, the anthology thriller has tapped Carmen Ejogo to star alongside Mahershala Ali. Ejogo has appeared in films ranging from Selma to Alien: Covenant to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them — she’s also in next year’s Fantastic Beasts sequel, reprising her role as MACUSA president Seraphina Picquery. 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.” Ali will play the lead role of Wayne Hays, a state police detective from Northwest Arkansas. Ejogo will play Amelia Reardon, an Arkansas schoolteacher with a connection to two missing children in 1980. The new season has no premiere date as of yet.