A new partnership is born on "True Detective."

The HBO crime drama has cast Stephen Dorff opposite Oscar winner Mahershala Ali for its third season. Both men will play Arkansas State police investigators whose lives and careers are influenced over three decades by a baffling crime.

Carmen Ejogo has already been cast as Amelia Reardon, an Arkansas schoolteacher with a connection to two missing children.

Dorff is a veteran character actor who has appeared in "Blade," Sofia Coppola's "Somewhere," and the Fox musical drama "Star." He recently wrote and co-directed "Wheeler," the story of an aspiring musician who tries his hand at the Nashville scene.

"True Detective" Season 3 is set in the Ozarks and follows a "macabre crime" in three different time periods. Creator Nick Pizzolatto is the sole writer of every episode, except for episode 4, which he co-wrote with David Milch ("Deadwood," "NYPD Blue"). Pizzolatto is also directing, along with Jeremy Saulnier ("Green Room").

HBO has yet to announce a premiere date.