Television dramas frequently strive to make things bigger, badder and bolder with each season. While True Detective might seem like a natural fit for this mold, it now looks like the HBO crime series might just be toning things down for the upcoming episodes.

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On Thursday, HBO programming president Michael Lombardo told Variety that things will be a little different for Season 2 of Nic Pizzolatto's breakout drama.

"It's still dark," explained Lombardo. "Nic explores the darkness in people's souls."

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The show's first season was a rather bleak, reflective look at the human condition played out during a criminal investigation in Louisiana.

Season 2 is set to take place in California with an all new cast, and now a new tone to match.

"It's not as dark, but it's not a light ride," Lombardo continued, "Nic likes looking into the crevices of the soul."

Pizolatto, who wrote Season 1, will also pen all the episodes for the drama's second year. Direction, however, will change with the exit of Cary Joji Fukunaga, who recently received an Emmy nomination for True Detective.  

Fukunaga directed every episode during Season 1, including the pilot. With different directors taking on different episodes for 2015, there are likely to be a number of stylist changes made for the program.

Casting rumors continue to circle violently around the series, though nothing has been confirmed just yet. Production is scheduled to begin in September though, meaning a reveal might be coming any day now.

True Detective returns to HBO for a second season in 2015.

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