5 Reasons to Watch True Detective

If you haven’t already seen HBO‘s True Detective starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, here’s five reasons why you may want to consider giving the season a watch. You won’t be disappointed.

True Detective may have been one of the most exciting new shows to hit cable television this year. There are a lot of other great shows that have also hit televisions in the last couple of months, but this one really stands out above all the rest, especially when it comes to all the other ‘cop dramas’ that are on television right now. Still not convinced? Take a look at the five reasons why you should tune in and find out why “man is the cruelest animal”.

Unconventional Cop Drama

True Detective opens the series with a gruesome murder with underlying occult elements. Unlike most police shows on television these days, there are no, ‘one and done’, episode arcs where they have to solve a crime in under forty-five minutes, using ridiculous technology in order to quickly narrow down their scope of suspects. This show instead details the full process of dead ends and the search for the suspect. This is not a cookie cutter case for our two detectives Cohle and Hart. On top of the drama of trying to find the murderer in the original case, there is another investigation going on set in 2012, bringing the two cops back after 17 years to work another killing similar to that of their first case. True Detective really ups the ante with this one, setting it apart from nearly every police show on television. In fact, it’s more easily comparable to the 1995 film Se7en starring Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt and Kevin Spacey.

Plot Twists

The two main detectives, Cohle and Hart, (Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson) are brought back 17 years after the original incident to talk about the details of the first murder. As the story progresses, it becomes evident that things may not be as they seem, with light being cast on the idea that these two may have more involvement with the case than solely as investigators. It is continually hinted that Cohle has an inner darkness and that there is something wrong with him while Hart often seems to refer to his old partner as a fairly strange fellow. Hart, on the other hand, comes off as a man who, despite having a rocky marriage with his wife, was a decent cop. As things move along, however, the light shifts to Hart and he begins to show signs of severe anger management and control issues. The plot twists are great in the show but aren’t difficult to follow, and will obviously lead to one big twist at the end. Luckily, as True Detective is much like American Horror Story, we won’t have to wait seasons upon seasons to get answers; everything will wrap up completely at the end of the season and leave a clean slate for a different story and cast of characters for the next.

Great Setting

Most police shows center around major urban cities, focusing on dark alleyways, car chases through skyscraper set backdrops, and gun fights in front of banks. True Detective takes a different tact though and takes the show to Louisiana and the bayou, with our detectives racing through swamps, or following suspects to trailer parks or biker bars located in the back country. Some of the scenes that Cohle and Hart have come upon, such as a burnt out church, would have looked out of place and much less powerful if they were located inside an urban location. It makes it seem like our detectives are more isolated up against this murderer, and the creepy occult elements of the murder stand out for it. It really makes it more tense and exciting to watch.

Terrific Supporting Cast

The supporting cast of True Detective certainly adds weight to the show and while the leads shine in their own, they wouldn’t have been able to have such an impact without the supporting cast behind them. Michelle Monaghan (Gone Baby Gone) plays Hart’s long suffering wife and Kevin Dunn (Transformers) as the Major in the department and Cohle and Hart’s boss. We have even seen the always great Shea Whigham (Boardwalk Empire), as a shady preacher, doing his work out of a tent in the middle of the countryside and offering salvation to less than pristine characters. The cast is littered with the type of actors that you immediately recognize from other shows or movies, and are similarly bringing their A game to make this grisly police drama come to life.

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson

Easily the best reason to watch this show is the trip on which these two superbly talented actors take us. Had lesser known actors been cast as the leads, it may not have been able to generate quite as much power. These two stars shine incredibly bright and are brilliantly cast. McConaughey is at his best in the role of Rust Cohle, a relatively creepy detective with a very dark and sad past. When we first meet him to the absolute car wreck of a human we meet in 2012, he brings the best out of his character and gives him significant depth. Even as the action amps up, Cohle rolls right along with it and McConaughey makes the character incredibly real. Coupled with his instant chemistry with Harrelson, the two together are brilliant. Even in the quiet moments their facial expressions and body language do all the talking.

Harrelson also takes it to another level in his portrayal of Martin Hart, a veteran homicide detective that has some severe anger management and fidelity issues with his wife as well as a slightly strained relationship with his eldest daughter. Though, despite his anger, Harrelson seems to bring a touch of sanity to the show (at least for a little while) to counterbalance McConaughey’s wild and unpredictable Rust Cohle.