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Season 1 – True Detective

Play trailer 1:20 Poster for Season 1 – True Detective Jan 2014 Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
91% Tomatometer 99 Reviews 93% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Anthology series in which police investigations unearth the personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within and outside the law.
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True Detective — Season 1

True Detective — Season 1

What to Know

Critics Consensus

In True Detective, performances by Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey reel the viewer in, while the style, vision and direction make it hard to turn away.

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Critics Reviews

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Brian Tallerico RogerEbert.com Jun 13, 2018
McConaughey and Harrelson don't just fill out these characters, they disappear into them, delivering two of the best performances you'll see in TV or film this entire year. Go to Full Review Verne Gay Newsday Jun 13, 2018
B+
It's a winner. But it's also an oddball, and a weirdo, and an interesting-cum-strange companion, and someone - um, something - you won't mind spending time with. Go to Full Review Emily Nussbaum The New Yorker Jun 13, 2018
True Detective has some tangy dialogue and it can whip up an ominous atmosphere, rippling with hints of psychedelia, but these strengths finally dissipate, because it's so solipsistically focussed on the phony duet. Go to Full Review Prahlad Srihari Firstpost Jul 24, 2020
As Fukunaga's images plunge us into the desolate bayous of Louisiana, Pizzolatto's words plunge us into the darkness of the human soul. Go to Full Review Kelechi Ehenulo Confessions From A Geek Mind Jul 15, 2020
4.5/5
True Detective is not just a great TV drama. When you look beyond the surface, it's also a great character study. Go to Full Review Brian Wilson What Culture Oct 23, 2018
There is so much that the first season of True Detective gets right. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Sean C @Seanc625 Oct 18, 2026 Possibly my favorite season of any series out there See more Brendan M @RT76082430 Oct 4, 2026 Quality show, exceptionally well cast and well written. The mystery and dread are well paced though I felt it sagged a little towards the end of the series. All the same, it earns it's place in the S tier. See more Nina P @NinaP681 Sep 27, 2026 It is unclear why they keep making other seasons. You cannot expand on, or re-invent, whatever recipe the first season so completely accomplished - It was a perfect flat circle. See more Kanishka D @Dante1111 Sep 23, 2026 This is it. Nothing ever comes close. See more Joey C @RT70183475 Sep 1, 2026 Great story and atmosphere See more armchair-opinion S @armchairopinions Aug 16, 2026 Its a slow burn. In my top 5 of all time. (Disturbing subject matter, for sure) but the story is told SO WELL. It’s perfect. See more Read all reviews
True Detective — Season 1

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Cary Fukunaga

Director

Matthew McConaughey

Rust Cohle

Woody Harrelson

Martin Hart

Michelle Monaghan

Maggie Hart

Michael Potts

Detective Gilbough

Tory Kittles

Detective Papania

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Jan 12, 2014 The Long Bright Dark Former Louisiana State CID partners, Rustin Cohle and Martin Hart, give statements to a pair of investigators about the murder of a prostitute that took place 17 years earlier. Details Episode 2 Aired Jan 19, 2014 Seeing Things Quesada warns Hart and Cohle that they may be replaced by an occult-crimes task force; the pair follows a lead to a rural cathouse and an incinerated church; Hart finds respite away from home. Details Episode 3 Aired Jan 26, 2014 The Locked Room Parishioners identify a scarred man seen with Dora Lange; a sex offender is brought in for interrogation; Maggie sets Cohle up with a friend; Cohle looks over old case files. Details Episode 4 Aired Feb 9, 2014 Who Goes There Hart and Cohle follow a series of leads in an effort to track down their prime suspect. Details Episode 5 Aired Feb 16, 2014 The Secret Fate of All Life Hart and Cohle celebrate a solved case; Papania and Gilbough confront the detectives with new intelligence. Details Episode 6 Aired Feb 23, 2014 Haunted Houses Maggie reveals Cohle's activities in 2002, when his relationship with Hart fractured and he quit the force. Details Episode 7 Aired Mar 2, 2014 After You've Gone Hart and Cohle investigate a string of disappearances that may be tied to the Dora Lange murder and the Tuttle family. Details Episode 8 Aired Mar 9, 2014 Form and Void Hart and Cohle get a new lead in their 17-year-old case. Details

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True Detective — Season 1

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True Detective — Season 1

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Season Info

Director
Cary Joji Fukunaga
Executive Producer
Cary Joji Fukunaga, Nic Pizzolatto, Steve Golin, Scott Stephens
Screenwriter
Nic Pizzolatto
Network
HBO
Rating
TV-MA
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date
Jan 12, 2014
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