True Detective to Premiere This January on HBO

Deadline is reporting that upcoming HBO crime drama True Detective will premiere this January on the network, filling the hole that horse racing drama Luck left when it was canceled in 2011. Last season, HBO didn’t have a 9:00 winter drama, opting to leave Girls and Enlightened to air in the 10:00 hour without a lead-in.

Starring Woody Harrelson (Natural Born Killers) as Detective Martin Hart and Matthew McConaughey (Magic Mike) as Detective Rust Cohle, True Detective tells the story of a 17-year hunt for a serial killer in Louisiana, a case that began in 1995 and was reopened in 2012. The series, whose first trailer will debut this Sunday before the fourth season premiere of Boardwalk Empire, will be framed by the detective’s testimony during the 2012 reopening and is set to feature the likes of Alexandra Daddario (Parenthood), Elizabeth Reaser (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2), Tory Kittles (Next), Michelle Monaghan (Source Code), and Kevin Dunn (Veep).

What should be HBO’s next move is deciding whether or not a new comedy should be premiered following the third season of Girls, as Enlightened was canceled this past spring. There are three comedies the network has picked up to series (gay-themed Looking; Getting On, based on the British series of the same name; and Togetherness, focusing on two couples living under the same roof) that could possibly be slotted there, but considering that they didn’t announce it along with True Detective, there’s no guarantee that any of them will be premiered in January. There’s an open spot in April with Family Tree‘s fate still up in the air; The Newsroom might not return to its summer slot next year, since creator Aaron Sorkin’s schedule might not accommodate such a move; and HBO will be saying goodbye to Eastbound & Down this fall, with Hello Ladies not promised a second season. In short, the network could conceivably avoid the midseason rush if they choose to and still have plenty of places to put their new programming, should they opt to run each episode of Girls at 10;00 and 10:30 following True Detective.

Will you be watching True Detective? Do you think the series will pair well with the next season of Girls? Should HBO premiere a new comedy in January to go along with the two shows?