We last saw True Detective back in 2015. After the critical drubbing the second season received (we quite liked it as it happens) it comes as a mild surprise that there will be a third season after a four-year break.

The first season of showrunner and creator Nic Pizzolatto's series set a new high water mark in crime drama. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson were mesmerising as two cops broken by a particularly dark and nasty case of ritual murder. Every episode, directed by Cary Fukunaga, dripped with style and southern Gothic horror.

Fukunaga parted ways with Pizzolatto for the second season. It wasn't necessarily a bad show but it felt less focused and seriously suffered by comparison, as Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughan struggled to fill McConaughey and Harrelson's shoes.

Here are all the details we have on season 3, when and where you can watch True Detective in the UK.

When can I watch True Detective Season 3?

Season 1 screened in January 2014; season 2 in June 2015 so there's no real pattern. Season three started filming in February 2018 but after its extended gestation period the best info we have so far is 2019.

How can I watch season 3 in the UK?

Sky Atlantic are the official broadcaster in the UK. True Detective will also be available on their On Demand catch up service and NOW TV.

Is there a trailer for True Detective Season 3 yet?

Not yet. So, for now, let's instead enjoy that six-minute tour de force tracking shot from season one. Cos, why the hell not?

How many episodes?

It's looking like another eight episode run.

What can we expect?

True Detective is an anthology show so season three will be a new self-contained story. Once again Pizzolatto has written every episode (with a co-writing credit on episode four for David 'Deadwood' Milch) focusing on another grisly (as yet unspecified) crime revolving around two missing children, with the action playing out in the Ozarks in Missouri / Arkansas over three separate time periods.

Pizzolatto will also be directing this time, alongside Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin, Green Room); Saulnier left after completing the first two episodes, and his replacement is veteran TV director Daniel Sackheim.

Who's starring in season 3?

Oscar winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) takes the lead role as police detective Wayne Hays. Ali also has some solid TV experience with key roles in House of Cards and Luke Cage. Joining him, Carmen Ejogo (Selma, Alien: Covenant, It Comes at Night) plays schoolteacher Amelia Reardon, who has links to the missing children. The much-underrated Stephen Dorff plays Arkansas state investigator Roland West; Scoot McNairy and Mamie Gummer will play a father and mother, respectively, linked to the case. Other actors confirmed for season 3 include Ray Fisher (Cyborg in the recent Justice League), Michael Greyeyes, Richard Meehan, Jon Tenney, Rhys Wakefield, Sarah Gadon and Emily Nelson.

True Detective returns to Sky Atlantic in 2019.