True Detective
Foxtel, Showcase, Tuesdays, 8.30pm
EVERY year pay TV has its hot, high quality, high budget debut show – its Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, or Game of Thrones.
And this year, it’s True Detective.
Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey are two southern detectives on the trail of a serial killer in steamy, swampy coastal Southern Louisiana.
The story jumps between the current day, and their ultimate apprehension of the killer 17 years before.
The question is, if they caught him then, who is killing people with the same modus operandi now?
The format sees the pair being separately interviewed by two largely silent cops, probing their investigation.
There’s a sense that the blame’s going to be pinned on someone, which adds to the tension and menace that pervades the series.
Much is made of the mismatch between the pair. Harrelson is a conventional cop: fiercely conservative, old school, a womaniser beneath his self-righteous demeanour.
McConaughey is a flake of the first order: unconventional, spacey, a bit mystical and given to long rambling monologues none of his fellow officers – much less his partner – particularly understand.
Even in such distinguished company, ex-nice guy rom-com stalwart McConaughey is the star of the show. “Failure to launch” and those other meaningless, sunny, fluffy pieces of light entertainment are but a memory now.
As a fringe benefit, Michelle Monaghan makes a long-awaited reappearance, as Harrelson’s wife, but clearly with her eye on McConaughey.
Tune in for this slice of southern deep-fried goodness.
– Jason Beck
