Rick Springfield Says 'Everybody Knew' 'True Detective' Season 2 Would Be Criticized

Critics haven't been kind  to the second season of "True Detective," thanks largely to its labyrinthine plot  and Vince Vaughn's pseudo-philosophical mumbling . But Rick Springfield, who said he channels his "inner creep" as psychiatrist Irving Pitlor in the HBO series, told HuffPost Live on Wednesday that the mixed reception was no surprise to the team behind the show.

"That's to be expected. Everybody knew that, because the first one came out of the box and [viewers were] like, 'Oh my God!' So you can't do that twice. You can't go 'Boo!' twice," Springfield said (at 2:45 in the video). "So I'm sure they knew that was going to be the initial reaction, because you can't surprise people twice."

But the actor, who also appears alongside Meryl Streep on the big screen in "Ricki and the Flash ," said the strength of the writing, acting and direction on "True Detective" makes the second season worthwhile despite audiences' confusion.

"That's what 'True Detective' does. You launch into the middle of a thing, and things are revealed all through the show that [make you] go, 'Oh!' There are 'oh!' moments, and you understand by the end of the thing what's going on. It's actually very brave writing and very clever writing," he said.

Watch Springfield discuss more about "True Detective" -- including how he achieved his character's bad-plastic-surgery look -- in the video, and catch his full HuffPost Live conversation here .

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