The thing that most likely will stick out to everyone who watches this show is its excellent use of setting. There are absolutely haunting locations, Louisiana appears dark and mysterious, even in bright daylight. The slight color correction adds to that, it looks old and forgotten. We have abandoned houses, churches, brothels in the woods, desperate and forgotten human beings among them. Key to the whole experience is the atmosphere. The cinematography by Adam Arkapaw is superb. The music is a big part of that too, a lot of contemporary music is to be found with a lot of quiet and haunting tunes that go with dialog.
Coming to the performances and the writing. Without a doubt Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson go great together. There is something between them that is not acting, as a viewer you can just feel that there is a general antipathy between them, which is something very hard to achieve and it shows how well these two work together, they are both absolutely superb actors doing the best they can. They're as different as they can be, but the passion and love they put into their job is the same and connects them. McConaughey's character might stand out, because of his mysterious and dark, depressive, pessimistic nature, his monologues and his view on life are astounding. Woody Harrelson's character is family friendly, he suffers, because of the job, yet wants to solve the case more than anything.
Overall, this might be one of the better pilots, if not one among the best pilots I personally have seen yet. True Detectives fantastic use of setting and locations, the great cinematography, detailed and passionate writing, the outstanding performances and the intriguing and involving story create a show that will definitely stand out in the future. This might be our next super-show à la 'Breaking Bad' or 'Mad Men'
10/10
