True Detective Review

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson are spellbinding in this brilliant, brooding tale of two Louisiana cops’ hunt for a serial killer.

Was there ever any doubt? (Well, yes, there was, as it happens: some bad-tempered arguments resulted in Playlist HQ over who would get the top slot, and the top five or six were in a very different order at one stage or another). But ultimately, we settled on HBO’s searing police procedural/character study, and it’s undoubtedly a worthy winner: even with other shows grabbing bigger ratings, nothing dominated the pop culture conversation in the way that “True Detective” did back in January, February and March of this year. With movie stars Matthew McConaughey (who won an Oscar while the show was on the air) and Woody Harrelson signing up, and Playlist favorite Cary Fukunaga at the helm, this always looked promising on paper, but even we were surprised by how hugely achieved the series felt from the first: a hugely atmospheric slice of Southern Gothic murder mystery that from the first, was as much about the people doing the investigation as the crime(s) itself. The dual-time structure allowed us to explore the contradictions and puzzles of Marty and Rust as they told their bleak, increasingly involving tale, and Nic Pizzolatto’s writing didn’t waste a syllable (those who criticize some of Rust’s monologues as being over-written don’t seem to have realized that this was entirely deliberate: that’s how he spoke, but notably not how anyone else on the series did), showing itself to be beautifully and carefully structured, and wrapping up in an entirely satisfying manner, even if it didn’t deliver the big twist that some were predicting–something that, we reckon, would only have cheapened the show. TV is famously seen as a writer’s medium, but “True Detective” felt like something else, Pizzolatto’s scripts melding with Fukunaga’s deeply atmospheric, gloriously cinematic work to create something better than the sum of its parts: everyone will remember that episode four one-take sequence, but the helmer never put a foot wrong at any point. And then, finally, the performances. This was a two-man show, no doubt, but what two men: McConaughey topping even his stunning recent big-screen renaissance, and Harrelson quieter and less showy, but just as rich and complex. We can think of no greater compliment for the series than to say one of our ideal approaches for Season Two would be a shot-for-shot remake, but with the two stars swapping over roles…

Best Episode: Episode Four, “Who Goes There,” had that remarkable closing sequence, but for us, the show peaked with episode five, “The Secret Fate Of All Life,” which featured both the confrontation with prime suspect Reggie Ledoux (brilliantly told through contradictory narration by Rust and Marty), and that beautiful jump through time to 2002.

Honorable Mentions: The show that perhaps came the closest to cracking the Top 20 without quite getting there was “Boardwalk Empire” — the series had some fierce advocates on staff, but some found the just-wrapped-up fourth season to be the weakest, despite the welcome addition of Jeffrey Wright to the ensemble. Reliable favorites that continued to be strong without quite making a case for cracking the list included “Community” (on welcome return to form), “Parks & Recreation” (also on an upswing this year), “Archer,” “Inside Amy Schumer” and “Key & Peele.” Dropping off our list for the first time was “Justified,” which continued to be solidly entertaining, but had a messier and less focused fifth run: here’s hoping next year’s final season sees it back on top form. “New Girl” similarly dipped down this time around, though we still enjoyed it, and “Scandal” also tipped over the edge into sheer ridiculousness in a less satisfying way than it had before. Across the pond, “Luther” disappointed slightly with its third season, but “Sherlock” had a solid return outing, although we didn’t quite love it enough to crack the final list.

We enjoyed debuting shows “Sleepy Hollow,” “Trophy Wife” and “Mom” without feeling compelled to shout them out, while “Looking” was a show we admired enormously without ever quite coming to love, and we never quite learned to love “Orphan Black” as a whole, though Tatiana Maslanyremains astonishing in it. “Hello Ladies” had some advocates, but quieter ones, and AMC‘s “Turn” was thoroughly decent without ever quite hitting that next level. “Halt & Catch Fire” and the second season of “Rectify” were too early in their runs to make the grade this time: look out next year to see if they make the cut then. And keep an eye out for UK exports “Inside No. 9” and “Southcliffe,” as and when they make it to the U.S, both are definite contenders for the next time around. We’ve heard good things about “Person Of Interest,” “Bates Motel,” “Adventure Time,” “Vikings” and Sundance’s “The Returned,” but no one strongly vouched for them to make the grade this time around.

Dishonorable Mentions: Just to shoot down some of the inevitable ‘but what about…’ questions, there were a few shows that we definitively ruled out of the list this time around. “True Blood” long ago descended into silliness, and “American Horror Story” started off in that gear and has only continued that way. Still silly is better than boring, and “The Walking Dead,” while fitfully interesting, has mostly stayed in that gear since the beginning. Although it at least doesn’t make us want to shower, which is the result every time we tune into “Sons Of Anarchy,” a series that seems determined to claim the title of ‘The Favorite Show Of People Who’s Favorite Movie Is ‘The Boondock Saints” And finally, we were most disappointed with the return of “House Of Cards,” which made our list last year, and started strongly with its first episode, but which soon went wildly off the rails.

Culled from Indiewire