Nic Pizzolatto's crime anthology True Detective has inspired adulation and disappointment in equal measure. Its first season was a confounding classic, but the second resulted in disappointed critics and smaller audiences.

The dark crime drama has always been able to pull in serious star power however, and that pattern seems set to continue with insider sources telling the Tracking Board that Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali is in early talks to appear in the third season.

Pizzolatto has been joined in writing the newest instalment by veteran TV writer David Milch, but no details of the script have been released.

This means that the characters and plots that Ali mght be embroiled in are anyone's guess at this stage.

Twitter reaction to the news has been largely positive.

Mahershala Ali and True Detective season 3 in the same sentence.. And all was well in the world pic.twitter.com/NyQdjJhUpA

— Firas (@Aldo7heApache) July 1, 2017

The inclusion of the Moonlight star might even expand the show's audience.

I've finally decided to watch True Detective https://t.co/ZWfOwtvO9C

— Ashley C. Ford (@iSmashFizzle) July 1, 2017

Mahershala Ali came to prominence in the acclaimed House of Cards, and has since appeared in films like , Kicks and Free State of Jones.