All 4 seasons of True Detective, ranked from worst to best
By Dan Selcke
1. True Detective season 1
Nic Pizzolatto, director Cary Fukunaga, and HBO captured something special with the first season of True Detective. Everything that would eventually feel a little old hat in later seasons — the star power, the intimations of bigger mysteries just out of reach, the grimdark tone — all felt fresh and new when season 1 aired in 2014, and viewers lapped it up.
Everything just worked. The chemistry between Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson — playing detectives Rust Cohle and Marty Hart — crackled with tension; they were a charming odd couple you were also a little afraid might kill each other. The southern-fried setting made you feel like you were sweating alongside the characters on the Louisiana bayou. The mystery our heroes were trying to solve was wrought by human hands, but there were just enough eerie hints to make us think there was something more to it, which inspired the discussion around the show to be just as if not more interesting than the show itself. This was lightning in a bottle.
It brings up a question: if season 1 of True Detective did everything right on the first go, did we need more seasons at all? The answer is no — had this show started and ended with season 1, it would still be remembered as a modern classic — but I'm glad we got more seasons anyway. The next two allowed Pizzolatto to come at the themes of season 1 from different angles, and Night Country established what could be a new framework for the show going forward. And because True Detective is an anthology with a whole new cast and location each time, none of the future seasons diminish what season 1 accomplished. Everybody wins.
Did you have a favorite season of True Detective? Let us know @Wicnet on X or in the comments below!
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