VIDEO: Mahershala Ali Investigates a Grisly Case in the Ozarks in First Trailer for 'True Detective' Season 3

If you thought Jason Batmeman’s money-laundering Netflix character Marty Byrde was the only criminal operating out of the Ozarks, you’d better think again.

HBO just released a long-awaited teaser for “True Detective” Season 3, starring Oscar-winning “Moonlight” actor Mahershala Ali as a cop investigating a mysterious crime in the Missouri Ozarks over the span of a few decades. The short clip, which juxtaposes a voiceover from his character against images hinting at a rural crime and a years-long investigation, debuted during Sunday night’s airing of the network’s “Sharp Objects” finale.

“Before you ever knew me, I wasn’t scared much,” Ali’s Arkansas State Police detective Wayne Hays says (above). “That wasn’t a fear for me. Things I’ve seen, things I know, wouldn’t do anything but cause harm. My whole brain’s a bunch of missing pieces … I want to know the whole story.”

“True Detective” Season 3 co-stars Carmen Ejogo (“Selma”) as an Arkansas schoolteacher with a connection to two missing children in 1980. It also features actors Stephen Dorff (“Blade”), Mamie Gummer (“The Good Wife”), and Scoot McNairy (“Argo”), and boasts the return of series creator Nic Pizzolatto, who penned Season 1 of the series, which helped Stern Show veterans Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson both score Emmy nominations.

When McConaughey returned to the Stern Show in 2017, he opened up about playing Detective Rust Cohle on the gritty crime drama as well as his willingness to return to TV if the role is right. “I don’t give a damn what screen it’s on, look at the quality of this script,” he told Howard, adding, “If another [‘True Detective’ script] came around, I’d sure give it a read.” Check out more of the interview here.