Of all the breakout shows that air throughout the year, none other than HBO’s crime drama “True Detective” has captivated and caught the attention of the public in quick fashion.
Every year new shows and old either end, get cancelled, or become renewed. “True Detective” has become what every new television show strives for.
The neo-noir style that modernizes the main duo of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson playing two homicide detectives on the hunt for a serial killer trying to solve a string of murders that align with each other in obscure fashion across Louisiana.
The series premiered on January 12, 2014 and was compromised of only eight episodes, all of which broke HBO’s record for a freshmen series debut in its first season. Not surprisingly, the show has been renewed for a second season that is set to debut for next year.
What makes this show so killer is due to the onscreen chemistry between polar opposite characters played by Harrelson and McConaughey. Harrleson portrays his character Detective Marty as a no-nonsense, adulterating strictly business kind-of-guy while McConaughey gets down right creepy and mysterious playing his partner Detective “Rust” Cohle.
The chemistry and foundation they’ve fortified is evident in the first few episodes and only grows deeper as their onscreen time flourishes. These two have been in films with each other before such as “EDtv” and “Surfer, Dude” so they know their way around each other when it comes to acting.
“True Detective” is such a fresh show on the crime genre because it blends two different timelines from their careers as detectives that still trace back to the same murders and serial killer they were hunting after from the beginning of the series opener.
This blend of interchangeable storytelling is what allows a riveting yet mysterious overtone to shadow over the show and keep the viewer guessing. Questioning motives and analyzing characters or suspects keep the audience on the edge while trying to figure out who the murders really are as you follow along their detective duties.
As such with any show in the drama department, the two detective’s lives are slowly but surely brought to the surface, which is why we learn and understand why Cohle is so messed up and why Marty is so private.
As the story progresses each murder unveils another layer much like peeling through an onion. This continually allows the story to enter new levels of fear, mystery and disillusion to how a human being can inflict such brutal pain or torture to their own kind.
The show can be gruesome but the message it delivers is that “man is the cruelest animal” just like the show’s catchphrase states.
If you haven’t seen or heard of the show yet, well, you may be living under a rock but what I wholeheartedly recommend is to get your caboose into a chair and binge watch the entire eight episode season this weekend!
You will surely be happy you did and with finals coming up in a few short weeks, you’ll need something to distract you while you make up excuses to stop studying. So reward yourself with one of the best new shows of the year and let your mind be warped by the entertaining storytelling of “True Detective.”