True Detective

Season 1 True Detective, different actors, different story, different class....absolutely amazing.....the following seasons average in comparison.

The first season of True Detective is among the best television I've ever seen. Just read through the reviews to see how loved that first season was. This show is an anthology series and every season is different in quality. Season 1 is BY FAR the best and again some of the best tv of all-time, Season 2 was not good despite a great cast and Season 3 was back to be watchable again. Now about that first season...it sucks you into the story from the beginning of the first episode and holds onto you throughout the season until that phenomenal ending. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson are so amazing in this that you forget that they're A-list actors and actually become the characters they are playing. Both of their performances are as good as anything you'll see from a television show. They're about to start filming season 4 and it should be out some time in late 2023. If you haven't seen this series yet then make time as soon as you can (except you can skip Season 2).

Before season one aired I had never seen anything so compelling in storytelling or filmmaking in my entire life. The following two seasons are watchable and well-made but nowhere near as phenomenal as season one. This is a paint-by-numbers example of how to do a gripping and unique story. There is nothing negative I can say about season one. Everything is top-notch. The acting, the story, the camera work, the music, the mood, everything.

We see through the relationship of the two main characters a complicated and sometimes volatile relationship. They aren't enemies but they aren't exactly friends either. The dialogues they share together are some of the most interesting filmmaking I've ever seen. They aren't good men or bad men either. They exist in the grey area. They are just good enough to not be bad but bad enough to not be good. They are stark contrasts of one another as well. The relationship Rust and Marty have evolves constantly throughout the series and is the highlight of the entire show. I cannot recommend this season enough.

If you want to skip this review just jump to the IMDb list of awards and nominations, and you're done.

If you want the skinny, let me say this is one of the most perfect dramas ever to grace your flat screen.

Harrelson, you need to understand, is no slouch. He does crazy better than crazy people. And he usually steals any scene not nailed down.

But Matthew McConaughey operates at such a level here -- not to mention the astonishing makeup which makes him appear to be playing his own father -- that he walks off with this production. Mesmerizing.

Everyone is pitch perfect, which I believe explains the casting awards. Even Michelle Monaghan, usually known for getting by on her amazing looks, does more acting her than anytime in her career

((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

True Detective is an absolutely incredible crime series. I've had to come back and revise my original comment because they just released season 4 so I had to include that in my comment. Like most others here have already said, Season 1 was on a different level. It was so good, so original and so incredibly acted, written, directed, etc that it was hard for the other seasons to live up to that first season. Season 2, even though it had an amazing cast, was not very good at all and easily the weakest of them. Season 3 was better and absolutely worth watching. Now, season 4 just ended and it was fantastic. I couldn't stop watching, I waited to the end of the season before I started it so I can binge it and I'm glad I did because that's the best way to watch it. Every season is different with a different story and a different cast so you don't have to watch in order. I absolutely recommend you watch season 1 and 4 though. If you have the time you can watch season 3 without being disappointed but skip season 2 all together.