True Detective

Production

Development

Before developing True Detective, Nic Pizzolatto taught at the University of Chicago, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and DePauw University.

Pizzolatto originally conceived True Detective as the narrative successor to Galveston, but once the project matured, he believed the story's shift in perspective and time made it more suitable for television. Pizzolatto worked alone creating the definitive project script, which exceeded 500 pages. As an anthology series, each True Detective season follows a self-contained story, distinguished by distinct sets of characters, settings, and events with shared continuity.

When preparing season 4, subtitled Night Country, director and writer Issa López chose to create a "dark mirror" of the first season: "Where True Detective is male and it's sweaty, Night Country is cold and it's dark and it's female."

In February 2024, following the fourth-season finale, HBO renewed the series for a fifth season with López returning as showrunner. The fifth season, set in the Jamaica Bay area of New York City, is scheduled to begin filming in 2025 with a scheduled release in 2027.

Filming

Principal photography for True Detective season one took place in Louisiana, partly because the shoot qualified for the state's tax incentive program that subsidized the cost of production. Production lasted 100 consecutive days, and each episode was shot on 35mm film. The crew filmed exterior shots of various constructed sets, including a remote sugarcane field outside of Erath, in addition to real life locations such as Fort Macomb, a nineteenth-century fort located outside of New Orleans.

California was selected as the setting for True Detective sophomore season. Producers were urged to avoid filming in Los Angeles and, instead, focus on the more obscure regions of the state to "capture a certain psycho-sphere ambiance". Production began in November 2014.

The third season was filmed at various locations throughout Northwest Arkansas, including Fayetteville, Bentonville, Lincoln, Rogers and Springdale. Filming began in February 2018 and was wrapped in August of the same year.

Opening sequence

Led by creative director Patrick Clair, True Detectives title sequences were developed by a collaborative team consisting of three motion-design studios: Santa Monica-based Elastic, Antibody and Breeder, both based in Australia. For the first season, Clair and his team took a variety of photos of the Louisiana scenery, which became the sequence's backbone.

Clair took a similar approach to creating the title sequence for True Detectives second season. Production used material from a number of photographers, including aerial shots captured by David Maisel. The theme song's lyrics change with every episode, incorporating different verses from Cohen's song.

For the fourth season, Night Country, a new sequence was commissioned from London-based Peter Anderson Studios, set to Billie Eilish's song "Bury a Friend", a major influence on the show cited by showrunner Issa López. As the fourth season sought to distinguish itself visually from prior entries, Anderson chose not to use superimposed images. Instead, the company was flown out to Iceland to film the majority of the sequence "from scratch", using the same props and locations as the show itself. Although certain scenes involved CGI (such as the final shot of a car parked on the sea ice) and underwater sequences were filmed in a tank, the majority of the sequence was real footage. This allowed Anderson to recreate the arc of the story in miniature, tantalizing the audience with the unfolding story: "[t]he setting is the same.  But the story, packed inside a single minute, stands on its own."

Cast and crew

Season 1

Main article: True Detective season 1

The first actor to be cast for True Detective was Matthew McConaughey, who acted as Detective Rustin "Rust" Cohle. McConaughey came to Pizzolatto's attention for his performance in the 2011 thriller film The Lincoln Lawyer, and was contracted before the series was commissioned by HBO. He and Woody Harrelson were among a pool of candidates Pizzolatto had in mind for star billing. Although McConaughey was to play Detective Martin "Marty" Hart, he later convinced Pizzolatto to cast him as Cohle. Instead, Harrelson was assigned the role of Hart at McConaughey's request. Michelle Monaghan played the female lead Maggie Hart, while Michael Potts and Tory Kittles were given the roles of Detectives Maynard Gilbough and Thomas Papania, respectively. Major recurring roles in the first season include Kevin Dunn as Major Ken Quesada and Alexandra Daddario as Lisa Tragnetti. Daddario appeared in a four-episode arc as a court reporter having an extramarital affair with one of the main characters; her nude scene with Woody Harrelson attracted much attention.

Cary Joji Fukunaga was appointed as director of True Detective first season. He competed with Alejandro González Iñárritu for the position, but Iñárritu dropped out because of other film commitments. To prepare, Fukunaga conducted research with a real-life homicide detective of the Louisiana State Police's Criminal Investigations Division. The director brought on Adam Arkapaw as the project cinematographer, and hired Alex DiGerlando, who he worked with on Benh Zeitlin's Glory at Sea (2008), as the production designer.

Season 2

Main article: True Detective season 2

In January 2014, Pizzolatto signed a two-year contract extension with HBO, effectively renewing the series for two additional seasons. Much like its predecessor, season 2 of True Detective consists of eight episodes, all written by Pizzolatto. However, the responsibility of directing was assigned to several people. Justin Lin directed the first two episodes. Fukunaga, who directed all of season one, did not return as director; he remains, however, an executive producer, as do McConaughey and Harrelson. Pizzolatto hired fellow novelist Scott Lasser to help develop and write stories for the second half of the season.

The season's first significant casting was Colin Farrell as Detective Raymond "Ray" Velcoro. Vince Vaughn, playing the role of criminal and entrepreneur Frank Semyon, was officially cast toward the end of the month. By November, True Detective principal cast expanded to include Rachel McAdams as Detective Antigone "Ani" Bezzerides, Taylor Kitsch as California Highway Patrol Officer Paul Woodrugh, and Kelly Reilly as Jordan Semyon, Frank's wife.

Season 3

Main article: True Detective season 3

In August 2017, HBO officially greenlit a third season, which takes place in the Ozarks over three decades. The first two episodes were directed by Jeremy Saulnier; he had been expected to direct the third episode, but had to exit the series due to scheduling conflicts. In March 2018, it was announced that Daniel Sackheim was added as director and that he and Pizzolatto would direct the remaining six episodes. Pizzolatto is the sole writer, with the exceptions of episodes 4 and 6 which he co-wrote with David Milch and Graham Gordy, respectively. Mahershala Ali was cast as the lead character, playing Wayne Hays, a state police detective from northwest Arkansas. Ray Fisher plays Wayne's son, Henry Hays; Carmen Ejogo plays Amelia Reardon, an Arkansas schoolteacher with a connection to two missing children in 1980; Stephen Dorff plays Roland West, an Arkansas State Investigator; Scoot McNairy plays Tom Purcell, the father of the missing children; and Mamie Gummer plays Lucy Purcell, the mother of the missing children.

Season 4: ''Night Country''

Main article: True Detective season 4

In March 2022, it was reported that a fourth season of True Detective was in development, with Issa López writing a pilot episode and Barry Jenkins as executive producer. López would also direct the pilot if HBO moved forward with the project. In May 2022, it was reported that Jodie Foster would star in a lead role for the fourth season. The season, subtitled Night Country, is set in Alaska, and follows detectives Liz Danvers (Foster) and Evangeline Navarro as they investigate the disappearance of eight men from a research station. In June 2022, HBO officially greenlit the series and Kali Reis was cast in the lead role of Evangeline Navarro, a role that was originally conceived as Latina. The season was filmed in Iceland on an estimated budget of $60 million. In September 2022, John Hawkes, Christopher Eccleston, Fiona Shaw, Finn Bennett, and Anna Lambe joined the cast. Further cast additions were announced in October 2022, including Aka Niviâna, Isabella Star LaBlanc and Joel D. Montgrand, while also confirming that the new season would be the first not written by Pizzolatto, who will turn over primary writing and showrunning duties to López. HBO confirmed on November 8, 2022, that production on the fourth season had commenced. Producer Mari-Jo Winkler and writer-director Issa López both announced that filming had finished in early April 2023. The season premiered on January 14, 2024.

Episodes

Main article: List of True Detective episodes

Reception

Critical response

Season 1

True Detective first season received widespread acclaim from television critics, with several naming it among the best television dramas of the year. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season garnered a rating of 92%, based on 100 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "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." On Metacritic, season one scored an 87 out of 100, based on 41 critics.

Reviewers from The Daily Beast, The Atlantic, and The Daily Telegraph cited True Detective as the strongest show in recent memory. Tim Goodman from The Hollywood Reporter said the acting, dialogue, and sleek production were the series' most redeeming qualities. HitFix's Alan Sepinwall agreed, and believed that these attributes "speak to the value of the hybrid anthology format Pizzolatto is using here ... points to a potentially fascinating shift in dramatic series television". Richard Lawson, writing for Vanity Fair, said that Pizzolatto and Fukunaga's sensibilities produce "a captivating and offbeat tweak of a well-worn genre". Despite its critical regard, some critics were not as enthusiastic in their reviews of season one. The New York Times journalist Mike Hale thought the script too readily deferred to religion as its narrative backbone, as did Chris Cabin from Slant Magazine. Hank Steuver of The Washington Post wrote that True Detective failed to realize its own ambition.

The ensemble performances, namely McConaughey and Harrelson, were frequently mentioned in reviews. Robert Bianco in USA Today wrote that the duo met, and even exceeded occasionally, the "enormously high" performance expectations of the "golden age of TV acting". David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times journalist Robert Lloyd singled out the two men for their work in the series; The Boston Globe did the same for Monaghan. Variety Brian Lowry said the True Detective cast consisted of "fine players on the periphery".

Season 2

True Detective second season received mixed reviews. Praise was given to the performances of Farrell, McAdams and Kitsch, cinematography, and action sequences. However, many critics felt it was weaker than the first season. Most criticism focused on the convoluted plot and dialogue. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a rating of 47%, based on 126 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Despite some memorably grizzled performances, True Detectives second season is florid to a fault and so unrelentingly grim that it becomes about as much fun as being stuck in L.A. traffic." On Metacritic, the season has a score of 61 out of 100, based on 41 critics.

David Hinckley of the New York Daily News gave it a very positive review, and wrote: "It's still the kind of show that makes TV viewers reach for phrases like 'golden age of television drama'" and "the second installment of True Detective goes out of the way not to echo the first". Hank Stuever of The Washington Post gave it a generally positive review, praising the performances, and wrote: "There is something still lugubrious and overwrought about True Detective, but there's also a mesmerizing style to it — it's imperfect, but well made."

A mixed review came from Brian Lowry of Variety, who wrote: "Although generally watchable, the inspiration that turned the first [season] into an obsession for many seems to have drained out of writer Nic Pizzolatto's prose."

Sean T. Collins of Rolling Stone gave it a negative review and described the season as having "emerged as the year's most passionately disliked show", and described it as a "squandered opportunity" for Nic Pizzolatto.

Season 3

The third season received positive reviews, in comparison to the mixed reception of the second season.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a rating of 84%, based on 110 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Driven by Mahershala Ali's mesmerizing performance, True Detectives third season finds fresh perspective by exploring the fallibility of memory." On Metacritic, the season has a score of 72 out of 100, based on 35 critics.

Season 4

The fourth season has received widespread critical acclaim, the most acclaimed since the first season.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 93% based on 210 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Frighteningly atmospheric and anchored by Jodie Foster and Kali Reis' superb performances, Night Country is a fresh and frosty variation on True Detectives existential themes." On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on 48 critics.

Ratings

|- | 2.33 | 1.67 | 1.93 | 1.99 | 2.25 | 2.64 | 2.34 | 3.52

With an average gross audience of 11.9million viewers, the first season of True Detective was HBO's most-watched show in its first year of airing, surpassing *Six Feet Under'''s 11.4million viewers in 2001. This rating system counts all airings of a show in its average audience rating, no matter how many times a viewer watches the show during the report period (including DVR recordings, reruns, and streaming on HBO Go). The season averaged 2.33million total live plus same-day viewers, with viewership numbers generally trending upward over the course of the season. The premiere was the second most-watched series debut for the network with 2.3million viewers, behind *Boardwalk Empire'' 4.8million in 2010. The sixth episode of the season was watched by 2.6million viewers, and became the first episode to surpass the premiere, while the season-finale was watched by 3.5million viewers, a 50% increase over the premiere's ratings.

The second-season premiere sustained the viewership numbers of the first season, as the episode was watched by 3.2million viewers. However, the season's ratings kept a generally downward trend, as the season-finale was watched by 2.7million viewers, a 22% drop in comparison to the final episode of the first season. Nevertheless, it was the most-watched telecast for the day it aired, drawing an additional 550,000 total viewers from the season's penultimate episode. Overall, the second season of the series averaged 2.61million total viewers, and 11.3million viewers in gross audience numbers, slightly below the first season's 11.9million.

The third season's two-episode premiere drew 1.4 and 1.2 million viewers in linear television format; this was a decline from the first two seasons. The fourth-season premiere received 2million viewers, including viewership from its linear HBO airing and streaming on Max. Viewership for the fourth season steadily increased with each episode, culminating in 3.2million total viewers for the season finale and averaged 12.7million cross-platform viewers for the season, to become the most-watched season of the series. This measurement included streams within 90 days of the season premiere. The first season was not as readily available to stream when it was released.

Accolades

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by True Detective

For the 30th TCA Awards, True Detective won for Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries, and Specials and received nominations for Outstanding New Program and Program of the Year; and McConaughey won for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Drama. For the 4th Critics' Choice Television Awards, the series was nominated for Best Drama Series, and McConaughey won for Best Actor in a Drama Series. For the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, the series was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series, Harrelson and McConaughey were both nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Pizzolatto was nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for "The Secret Fate of All Life", and Fukunaga won for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for "Who Goes There".

For the 66th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the series was nominated for seven awards, and won four, including Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series and Outstanding Main Title Design. For the 67th Writers Guild of America Awards, the series won for Best Drama Series and Best New Series. For the 21st Screen Actors Guild Awards, Harrelson and McConaughey both received nominations for Best Drama Actor. For the 72nd Golden Globe Awards, the series was nominated for Best Miniseries or Television Film, Harrelson and McConaughey were both nominated for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film, and Monaghan was nominated for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. For the 67th Directors Guild of America Awards, Fukunaga was nominated for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series for the episode "Who Goes There".

Night Country garnered a total of nineteen nominations at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards, thus becoming the most nominated season of the show. Foster won for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Among many, it received nominations for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor (for Hawkes), Outstanding Supporting Actress (for Reis), Outstanding Directing and Writing (for Lopez). At the 40th TCA Awards, Night Country received nominations for Outstanding Achievement in Drama and Outstanding Individual Achievement in Drama (for Foster).

Home media

References

References

1. Milazzo, Melissa. (October 5, 2014). "''True Detective'' Explores the Roots and Branches of Southern Gothic".
2. Ausiello, Michael. (April 9, 2015). "''True Detective'' Season 2 Trailer Is Here!".
3. Kim, Monica. (June 17, 2015). "Meet the Troubled Cast of True Detective's Season 2". Vogue.
4. Wigler, Josh. (February 21, 2024). "'Night Country' Boss Issa López on Reviving 'True Detective' and Franchise's Future: "We Will Know Very Shortly"".
5. Porter, Rick. (February 19, 2024). "TV Ratings: 'True Detective: Night Country' Ends With Season High".
6. Otterson, Joe. (August 21, 2025). "Nicolas Cage in Talks to Star in ‘True Detective’ Season 5".
7. Romano, Andrew. (April 4, 2014). "Inside the Obsessive, Strange Mind of True Detective's Nic Pizzolatto". [[The Newsweek Daily Beast Company]].
8. Walker, Dave. (July 7, 2013). "Nic Pizzolatto, New Orleans-born novelist, discusses HBO's upcoming 'True Detective'". [[The Times-Picayune]].
9. Andreeva, Nellie. (April 30, 2012). "HBO Picks Up Matthew-Woody Series 'True Detective' With Eight-Episode Orders".
10. Duelund, Theis. (January 4, 2014). "Q&A: "True Detective" Creator Nic Pizzolatto is a One-Man Writing Army". [[Los Angeles (magazine).
11. Navne, Helene. (August 23, 2014). "Til masterclass med Mr. True Detective". [[JP/Politikens Hus]].
12. Goldberg, Lesley. (April 30, 2013). "HBO Lands Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson Cop Drama". The Hollywood Reporter.
13. Busis, Hillary. (November 8, 2023). "True Detective: Night Country First Look: "It's Cold and It's Dark and It's Female"".
14. Goldberg, Lesley. (February 22, 2024). "'True Detective' Renewed for Season 5 With Issa López at the Helm".
15. Andreeva, Nellie. (February 12, 2025). "‘True Detective’ Season 5 Setting Revealed As HBO Series Gears Up For Production".
16. White Jr., Lamar. (January 16, 2014). "Exclusive: Nic Pizzolatto's Louisiana". CenLamar.
17. Hart, Hugh. (January 6, 2014). "Director Cary Fukunaga on Conjuring the Louisiana Noir of "True Detective"". [[Fast Company (magazine).
18. (2014). ""Making True Detective" featurette". [[HBO]].
19. Martin, Denise. (March 6, 2014). "Devil's Nests and Beer-Can Men: The Origins of 13 True Detective Set Pieces". New York Media.
20. Martin, Denise. (March 10, 2014). "True Detective's Production Designer on the Fort". New York Media.
21. (November 24, 2014). "Rachel McAdams, Taylor Kitsch and Kelly Reilly Join Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn in HBO's "True Detective"". HBO.
22. Murphy, Kay. (May 29, 2018). "'True Detective' Crew Teach Students and Staff About On-Site Film Production".
23. Schaefer, Sandy. (August 16, 2018). "HBO's True Detective Season 3 Wraps Filming".
24. Horn, John. (June 29, 2015). "True Detective's Title Designer on Bringing the Soul of the Show to Its Opening Moments". New York Media.
25. Perkins, Will. (January 14, 2014). "True Detective (2014)". [[Art of the Title]].
26. Rhodes, Margaret. (March 7, 2014). "A Behind-The-Scenes Look At The Chilling Opening Credits Of "True Detective"". Fast Company.
27. Kalina, Paul. (August 22, 2014). "How Patrick Clair won the Emmy for 90 seconds of True Detective". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
28. Zoladz, Lindsay. (June 21, 2015). "A History of True Detective's New Theme Song, 'Nevermind'". Vulture.
29. Tach, Dave. (July 7, 2015). "True Detective season two watchthrough: episodes two and three". Polygon.
30. Pehanick, Maggie. (July 6, 2015). "Have You Noticed That True Detective's Theme Song Changes Every Week?". PopSugar.
31. Anderson, Peter. ""True Detective: Night Country Title Sequence", Peter Anderson Studios".
32. Rosenberg, Josh. (January 16, 2024). "Billie Eilish's 'Bury A Friend' Inspired True Detective Season 4's Opening Credits".
33. Brandon, Elissaveta M.. (February 1, 2024). "True Detective's eerie title sequence is full of clues and red herrings".
34. Goldberg, Lesley. (January 9, 2014). "'True Detective': Five Things to Know About HBO's New Cop Drama". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
35. Drumming, Neil. (January 9, 2014). ""True Detective" director Cary Fukunaga explains the show's dark humor". Salon Media Group.
36. Ringen, Jonathan. (March 3, 2014). "Matthew McConaughey on 'True Detective,' His Pal Woody, McConaissance".
37. MacInnes, Paul. (March 21, 2014). "True Detective: how we made the most talked-about TV show of the year". [[The Guardian]].
38. Radish, Christina. (January 4, 2014). "Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson Talk True Detective, Why They Agreed to Do a TV Show, Working with Each Other, and More". Collider.
39. Radish, Christina. (February 12, 2014). "Michelle Monaghan Talks True Detective, Joining the Show, Working with Cary Fukunaga, the Mood on Set, Future Projects, and More". Collider.
40. Andreeva, Nellie. (January 14, 2013). "'Texas Chainsaw's Alexandra Daddario, 'Twilight Saga's Elizabeth Reaser, 2 'Wire' Alums Join New HBO Series 'True Detective'".
41. Andreeva, Nellie. (January 14, 2013). "'HBO Series 'True Detective', AMC's 'The Killing' Add To Casts".
42. Andreeva, Nellie. (February 1, 2013). "Kevin Dunn Joins HBO Series 'True Detective', CBS Pilot 'Mom' Adds Regular".
43. Sullivan, Kevin P.. (January 17, 2014). "Alexandra Daddario Talks ''True Detective'' Nude Scene: 'I Just Sort Of Did It'".
44. Borrelli, Christopher. (January 22, 2014). "True voice brings 'True Detective' to life". [[Chicago Tribune]].
45. Stern, Marlow. (February 26, 2014). "True Detective Director Cary Fukunaga's Journey from Pro Snowboarder to Hollywood's Most Wanted". The Newsweek Daily Beast Company.
46. Brown, Emma. (January 9, 2014). "True Director". Dan Ragone.
47. Andreeva, Nellie. (January 24, 2014). "'True Detective' Creator Nic Pizzolatto Signs New Overall Deal With HBO, Paving Way For Season 2 Of Breakout Drama".
48. Hibberd, James. (May 27, 2014). "'True Detective' season 2 scoop: Trio of leads, California setting".
49. Rose, Lacey. (August 6, 2014). "'True Detective's' Nic Pizzolatto on Season 2, 'Stupid Criticism' and Rumors of On-Set Drama". The Hollywood Reporter.
50. Coleman, Miriam. (September 21, 2014). "Colin Farrell Confirms That He's Joining the Cast of 'True Detective'".
51. Hibberd, James. (September 23, 2014). "HBO confirms 'True Detective' season 2 cast: Vince Vaughn, Colin Farrell to star".
52. Fowler, Matt. (October 27, 2014). "Taylor Kitsch Confirms True Detective Season 2 Role".
53. Hibberd, James. (November 24, 2014). "'True Detective' confirms 3 more cast members".
54. Robinson, Joanna. (January 20, 2019). "True Detective Season 3: A Complete Timeline of Clues".
55. Littleton, Cynthia. (March 30, 2018). "'True Detective' Director Shuffle: Jeremy Saulnier Exits, Daniel Sackheim Signs On (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
56. Birnbaum, Debra. (August 31, 2017). "'True Detective' Season 3 Set at HBO Starring Mahershala Ali".
57. Andreeva, Nellie. (February 14, 2018). "'True Detective': Ray Fisher Joins Cast of HBO Anthology Series As Regular; Three More Set To Recur On Season 3".
58. Andreeva, Nellie. (November 17, 2017). "'True Detective': Carmen Ejogo To Star In Season 3 Of HBO Anthology Series".
59. Petski, Denise. (January 3, 2018). "'True Detective': Stephen Dorff Cast In Season 3 Of HBO Anthology Series".
60. Petski, Denise. (January 16, 2018). "'True Detective': Scoot McNairy Cast In Season 3 Of HBO Anthology Series".
61. Roots, Kimberly. (February 6, 2018). "True Detective Casts Mamie Gummer".
62. Goldberg, Lesley. (March 18, 2022). "'True Detective' Season 4 in the Works at HBO With Barry Jenkins".
63. Otterson, Joe. (May 26, 2022). "Jodie Foster to Star in 'True Detective' Season 4 at HBO". [[Variety (magazine).
64. Mitovich, Matt Webb. (June 28, 2022). "True Detective Season 4: Kali Reis to Help Jodie Foster Solve Alaska Mystery".
65. (January 5, 2023). "International Production Guide". [[Kemps Film and TV Production Services Handbook]].
66. Strause, Jackie. (September 23, 2022). "'True Detective' Season 4 Adds 5 to Cast".
67. Porter, Rick. (October 26, 2022). "'True Detective' Adds Trio to Season 4 Cast".
68. Bentz, Adam. (November 8, 2022). "True Detective Season 4 Set Photo Reveals Filming Start".
69. Hookstead, David. (April 10, 2023). "'True Detective' Season 4 Finishes Filming, Release Timeline Possibly Becoming Clear".
70. Nemetz, Dave. (September 27, 2023). "True Detective Season 4 Lands HBO Premiere Date — Watch a New Trailer".
71. "TV Critic Top 10 Lists – Best TV Shows of 2014".
72. "True Detective: Season 1 (2014)".
73. "True Detective: Season 1".
74. Harvey, Chris. (February 22, 2014). "True Detective, Sky Atlantic, review: a work of depth and cinematic flair". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
75. Romano, Andrew. (January 11, 2014). "'True Detective' Review: You Have to Watch HBO's Revolutionary Crime Classic". The Daily Beast.
76. Orr, Christopher. (February 11, 2014). "''True Detective'': The Best Show on TV". The Atlantic.
77. Goodman, Tim. (January 2, 2014). "True Detective: TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
78. Sepinwall, Alan. (January 7, 2014). "Review: Matthew McConaughey & Woody Harrelson amaze in HBO's 'True Detective'".
79. Lawson, Richard. (January 15, 2014). "Review: HBO's True Detective Is Mind Over Murder'". [[Vanity Fair (magazine).
80. Hale, Mike. (January 11, 2014). "A Coupling as Bizarre as the Murder". [[The New York Times]].
81. Cabin, Chris. (January 8, 2014). "True Detective: Season One". [[Slant Magazine]].
82. Stuever, Hank. (January 9, 2014). "HBO's 'True Detective': A murky mystery, bogged down in a swamp". [[The Washington Post]].
83. Bianco, Robert. (January 9, 2014). "'True Detective': You have the right to remain dazzled". [[USA Today]].
84. Wiegand, David. (January 9, 2014). "'True Detective' review: 2 stars shine brightly". San Francisco Chronicle.
85. Lloyd, Robert. (January 10, 2014). "Review: 'True Detective's' slow and steady pace a winning formula". Los Angeles Times.
86. Rodman, Sarah. (January 9, 2014). "McConaughey, Harrelson make 'True Detective' arresting". [[The Boston Globe]].
87. Lowry, Brian. (January 8, 2014). "TV Review: 'True Detective'". Variety.
88. Sheffield, Rob. (June 17, 2015). "Is 'True Detective'{{'}}s New Season Truly Defective?".
89. Cornet, Roth. (June 28, 2015). "True Detective: "Night Finds You" Review".
90. Ryan, Chris. (July 13, 2015). "'True Detective,' Season 2, Episode 4: 'Down Will Come'".
91. Sepinwall, Alan. (June 17, 2015). "Review: Has 'True Detective' fallen victim to the sophomore slump?".
92. Ryan, Shane. (June 29, 2015). "True Detective Review: "Night Finds You"".
93. "True Detective: Season 2 (2015)".
94. "True Detective: Season 2".
95. Hinckley, David. (June 12, 2015). "'True Detective' review: Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn head new team at HBO including Rachel McAdams and Taylor Kitsch". New York Dally News.
96. Stuever, Hank. (June 16, 2015). "'True Detective' Season 2: New cast, setting, same grim self-seriousness". The Washington Post.
97. Lowry, Brian. (June 12, 2015). "TV Review: 'True Detective,' Season 2". Variety.
98. Collins, Sean T.. (August 10, 2015). "What Went Wrong With 'True Detective' Season 2?".
99. "True Detective: Season 3 (2019)".
100. "True Detective: Season 3".
101. "True Detective: Season 4".
102. "True Detective: Season 4".
103. (March 10, 2014). "'True Detective' Unearths Record HBO Ratings In Finale".
104. "Glossary of Media Terms".
105. Albiniak, Paige. (April 14, 2012). "Syndie ratings now apples to apples".
106. (March 12, 2014). "True Detective: Season One Ratings". TV Series Finale.
107. Kenneally, Tim. (June 23, 2015). "'True Detective' Ratings Rise for Season 2 Premiere".
108. Nededog, Jethro. (August 11, 2015). "'True Detective' Season 2 ratings end on a high note, but don't come close to Season 1".
109. (August 11, 2015). "True Detective: Season Two Ratings". TV Series Finale.
110. Maglio, Tony. (August 11, 2015). "'True Detective' Season 2 Finale Drops 22 Percent in Viewers From Debut Year".
111. Maas, Jennifer. (January 14, 2019). "'True Detective' Drops to 1.4 Million Viewers With Season 3 Premiere".
112. Zee, Michaela. (January 15, 2024). "'True Detective: Night Country' Premieres to Over 2 Million Viewers".
113. Seitz, Loree. (February 13, 2024). "'True Detective: Night Country' Becomes Series' Most-Watched Season With 12.7 Million Viewers".
114. Rice, Lynette. (February 19, 2024). "'True Detective: Night Country' Wraps As Most-Watched Season Of HBO Crime Anthology".
115. Porter, Rick. (February 19, 2024). "TV Ratings: ‘True Detective: Night Country’ Ends With Season High".
116. Ausiello, Michael. (July 19, 2014). "TCA Awards 2014: ''Good Wife'', ''OITNB'', ''True Detective'', ''Veep'', ''Breaking Bad'', ''RuPaul'' Among Winners". TVLine.
117. (May 28, 2014). "''Big Bang'', ''Fargo'', ''The Good Wife'', ''Masters of Sex'', ''The Normal Heart'' Lead 2014 Critics Choice Nominations". TVLine.
118. Mitovich, Matt Webb. (August 25, 2014). "Emmys 2014: ''Sherlock'', ''Breaking Bad'', ''Horror Story: Coven'', ''True Detective'' and Many Repeat Winners Grab Gold". TVLine.
119. "True Detective". Emmys.com.
120. Zuckerman, Esther. (February 14, 2015). "''The Grand Budapest Hotel'' and ''The Imitation Game'' win WGA Awards".
121. Mitovich, Matt Webb. (December 10, 2014). "SAG Awards: ''Modern Family'', ''Thrones'', ''Homeland'', ''Boardwalk'', ''Cards'' Lead Noms; ''Mad Men'' Shut Out; ''HTGAWM'', Maslany and Aduba Get Nods". TVLine.
122. Mitovich, Matt Webb. (December 11, 2014). "Golden Globes: ''Fargo'', ''True Detective'' Lead Nominations; ''Jane the Virgin'', ''Transparent'' Score Multiple Nods". TVLine.
123. Schwartz, Ryan. (January 14, 2015). "''OITNB'', ''Game of Thrones'', ''Transparent'' Among Directors Guild Nominees". TVLine.
124. (July 17, 2024). "True Detective: Night Country". [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]].
125. (July 17, 2024). "Emmys 2024: List of Nominees".
126. Longeretta, Emily. (June 10, 2024). "'Baby Reindeer', 'Ripley' and 'Shogun' Lead 2024 TCA Awards Nominations: Full List".