--- description: Reps for The Zero Dark Thirty actress debunked rumors that she would star in the second season of HBO's critically acclaimed detective drama title: Jessica Chastain Will Not Star in True Detective Season 2 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc172d0d68ac624b8/6986904bf983e7e8db04de70/jessica-chastain.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Jessica Chastain Will Not Star in _True Detective_ Season 2 by [Megan Gibson](/author/megan-gibson/) and [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/) May 21, 2014 11:42 AM CUT  Jessica Chastain during the 'The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby' photocall at the 67th Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2014. Jessica Chastain during the 'The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby' photocall at the 67th Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2014.Dave Bedrosian—DPA/Landov by [Megan Gibson](/author/megan-gibson/) and [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/) May 21, 2014 11:42 AM CUT **Updated at 11:05 am EST** Almost from the beginning of _True Detective_‘s stellar first season — which starred Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey as flawed but fascinating detectives — fans have been speculating who would be cast in the [second season](http://www.nerdist.com/2014/05/exclusive-jessica-chastain-offered-lead-role-in-hbos-true-detective-season-2/ "undefined") of the anthology series. _The Nerdist_ reported Wednesday that the show’s producers offered _Zero Dark Thirty_ star Jessica Chastain a spot in the 2015 season. But reps for Chastain and HBO denied the rumor, [according to E! News](http://www.eonline.com/news/543882/jessica-chastain-for-true-detective-season-2-sorry-to-burst-your-bubble "undefined"). Sadly, Chastain will not join the show. Bring on Chastain would have been a boon for the series. Not only did Chastain storm the film industry in 2011 with starring roles in a total of seven films, she also earned a host of awards and nominations for her role as a determined CIA officer in 2012’s _Zero Dark Thirty_, including an Oscar nod. (She was also included in [the 2012 TIME 100](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2111975%5F2111976%5F2112107,00.html "undefined").) Critics of the show, [who thought that it was misogynist and gave no female perspective](http://time.com/12708/true-detective-doesnt-endorse-misogyny-just-like-girls-doesnt-endorse-narcissism/ "undefined"), have also been eager to see a woman in one of the lead roles for the second season. Creator Nic Pizzolatto addressed the casting issue after the first season’s finale in an [interview with Alan Sepinwall at Hitfix](http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/true-detective-creator-nic-pizzolatto-looks-back-on-season-1/single-page "undefined"): “This is really early, but I’ll tell you (it’s about) hard women, bad men and the secret occult history of the United States transportation system.” \[[_E! News_](http://www.eonline.com/news/543882/jessica-chastain-for-true-detective-season-2-sorry-to-burst-your-bubble "undefined")\] _This post was updated to debunk rumors of Chastain’s casting in_ True Detective. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/107202/jessica-chastain-true-detective/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/107202/jessica-chastain-true-detective/"},"headline":"Jessica Chastain Will Not Star in True Detective Season 2","datePublished":"2014-05-21T11:42:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T11:31:40.369Z","description":"Reps for The Zero Dark Thirty actress debunked rumors that she would star in the second season of HBO's critically acclaimed detective drama","url":"https://time.com/107202/jessica-chastain-true-detective/","keywords":["Television","HBO","True Detective","Casting","Jessica Chastain"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc172d0d68ac624b8/6986904bf983e7e8db04de70/jessica-chastain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Gibson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/megan-gibson/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc172d0d68ac624b8/6986904bf983e7e8db04de70/jessica-chastain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jessica Chastain during the 'The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby' photocall at the 67th Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2014.","caption":"Jessica Chastain during the 'The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby' photocall at the 67th Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2014.","creditText":"Dave Bedrosian—DPA/Landov","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/107202/jessica-chastain-true-detective/","name":"Jessica Chastain Will Not Star in True Detective Season 2"}}]}] ```