Two-time Oscar winnerJodie Fosterstars in the fourth season of the acclaimed HBO dramaTrue Detective, marking her return to the small screen after almost fifty years away from it. In truth, Foster couldn’t have chosen a better vehicle to return to television. Premiering in 2014 and undergoing several changes in tone, approach, and even creative input,True Detectivehas quickly become one of the most prestigious shows on primetime TV and a wonderful example of the highs achieved during the so-called Golden Age of Modern Television.
Created by writer, director, and producerNic Pizzolatto,the anthology series has made a name for itself thanks to its dark, intense, raw, and unrelenting storytelling. Numerous high-profile actors have played major roles in each chapter, from Oscar winners and nominees to highly-regarded character actors. Still, for all its strengths, not every season has been a hit, and some can actually be considered somewhat disappointing. However, at its peak, there truly are no other shows like it, andthe greatest seasons ofTrue Detectiveare among the absolute best in television history.
True Detective
Anthology series in which police investigations unearth the personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within and outside the law.
4Season 2 (2015)
Main Cast: Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Vince Vaughn
Following the overwhelming success of its first season,True Detectivehad the difficult task of living up to its own reputation. Premiering a year after its acclaimed debut, season 2 centers on a murder investigation involving four different parties—three police officers and a career criminal—and leading to a massive conspiracy in the city of Vincy involving a major land deal. Oscar nomineesColin FarrellandRachel McAdamsstar oppositeVince VaughnandTaylor Kitsch.
Season 2 ofTrue Detectiveis an underwhelming follow-upto what is possibly one of the all-time best seasons of television. High expectations are to blame here, with everyone hoping season 2 would outdo or at least match its predecessor. However, the truth isseason 2 is simply a weaker effort from creator Nic Pizzolatto, lacking the grimly compelling nature of season 1. WhereasTrue Detective’s junior effort is grounded and raw yet gripping, its follow-up feels violent and dark for the sake of it. The performances are stellar, particularly fromthe ever-reliable Colin Farrelland Rachel McAdams, but they’re not enough to salvage this overly bleak narrative mess.
3Season 3 (2019)
Main Cast: Mahershala Ali, Carmen Ejogo, Stephen Dorff
Four years passed beforeTrue Detectivereturned to the small screen following the disaster of season 2. Luckily, it came back with a focused story more concerned with storytelling than with shock value. Set in the Ozarks, the story centers on two police detectives, Wayne Hays and Roland West, and tracks their involvement with a sinister case involving the disappearance of two children. The season follows them across three time periods, starting in the 1980s and continuing into 2015.
Starring Oscar-winnerMahershala Alias Hays oppositeStephen Dorffas West,season 3 ofTrue Detectiveis a return to formfor the series. Riding on the strength of Ali’s confident and captivating performance, season 3 echoes real-life issues, including the rise of the true-crime genre and its impact on investigations, while still offering a riveting mystery. What it loses in macabre style, it makes up for with a sobering tone and a twisting narrative. Like the show’s debut effort,season 3 ofTrue Detectivejuggles several timelines and storylines without overwhelming its audience. Instead, it allows its harrowing slow-burn story to unfold with precision and patience, resulting in a haunting eight episodes that are as unforgettable as they’re unrelentingly harsh.
2Season 4 (2024)
Main Cast: Jodie Foster, Kali Reis, John Hawkes
True Detective’s most recent effort stars Jodie Foster opposite a cast includingKali Reis,Fiona Shaw,Christopher Eccelston, and Oscar nomineeJohn Hawkes. Set in the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska, the season tells the story of detectives Liz Danvers and Evangeline Navarro as they investigate the mysterious and seemingly inexplicable disappearance of eight men who operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station.
Aside from being the first of the show’s seasons to feature a subtitle,True Detective: Night Countryalso features the departure of creator Nic Pizzolatto, with Mexican directorIssa Lópeztaking over as writer, director, and showrunner. Thus,season 4 feels like a welcome shift inTrue Detective’s tone and themes. Chillingly atmospheric, both visually and narratively,season 4 is an absorbing and decidedly feminist take onTrue Detective’s formula. However, it never forgets to present a riveting mystery, feeling like both a callback to and a suitable reinvention of the approach that made season 1 such a hit.Night Countryblends horror and mysterywith stellar results, benefitting from López’s firm storytelling and a spectacular powerhouse performance from Jodie Foster.
1Season 1 (2014)
Main Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Monaghan
It’s not an overstatement to sayseason 1 ofTrue Detectiveis among the single best television efforts in the medium’s history. Oscar winnerMatthew McConaugheyand Oscar nomineeWoody Harrelsonstar as Rustin “Rust” Cohle and Martin “Marty” Hart, two homicide detectives who take on the Dora Lange murder investigation in 1995. Seventeen years later, the pair, who haven’t spoken in a decade following an incident with Hart’s wife, are summoned for questioning about the unsolved case.
Propelled by McConaughey’s electrifying tour-de-force portrayal,True Detectiveseason 1 is nothing short of a masterpiece. The series is an insightful and sobering portrayal of masculinity, presenting an über macho and incredibly claustrophobic world that directly influences the broken psyches of the men who uphold it. The season is also highly philosophical, presenting a study of the battle between good and evil while focusing on themes of pessimism, delusion, and denial. Although remarkably grim and occasionally off-putting,True Detectiveseason 1 remains fascinating and addictive, leaving audiences with a hollow yet meaningful feeling that’s impossible to forget.
