TV Review: True Detective Season 1

Earlier this year I made a list of a handful of shows that both Jenn and I wanted to try out this year. On the top of both of our list was HBO's True Detective. The shows first season stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson and has been a critical success. So what did we think?

For me the first season of True Detective was a mixed bag. The first trio of episodes were downright boring. Remember that this is HBO which means each episode is a full 60 minutes. That's a lot of time to fill for an episode and the first handful of episodes take a long time to get going. At least 30% of the show is McConaughey or Harrelson sitting in a conference room talking with two cops who want to know about a case that the duo took part in many years in the past. This gives both actors a chance to really show off their tremendous acting chops. These are some of the most compelling scenes in the show but its a trope that they go to a few too many times.

The series is dark. I mean one of the darkest shows we've ever watched. There were episodes where it was so bad we watched something else before going to bed. The slow burn made it hard for both of us to get into it but at the end of the season we both were fully into True Detective. Granted this is neither of our favorite shows it was one of the best acted. I for one can't wait to see how Vince Vaughn does in the starring role for Season 2.