Next to "Sherlock", "True Detective" is the Best Thing to Happen on TV this Year

True Detective is about state police detectives Marty Hart and Rust Cohle who found themselves, in a span of 17 years, having to deal with a disturbing murder mystery wrapped in occultism and conspiracy.  During their investigation, the two of them, both being flawed individuals, also had to deal with their personal demons, and whose opposing personalities made them often be at odds with each other (even coming close to physical blows).  But in spite of the difficulty of working together, they still managed to properly get the job done at the end of the day.    

Next to Sherlock, True Detective could turn out as my most favorite TV show for 2014.  It was extremely engaging and thrilling that it was completely hard to turn away from it; I watched all episodes of the first season (pre-downloaded) in one sitting (that has to be something around eight hours straight).

I’ve noticed that all of the TV shows I currently like and follow have elements of humor in them.  So it was kind of an “odd-man-out” case for the grim True Detective with me.  Despite having a “serious” tone, the show still mightily appealed to me.   

It’s just that there are a lot of things to love about this show.  First of all, it was an intelligent detective-mystery story, and I’ve always loved the genre.  The opening theme was also pretty fine and catchy.  The narrative and dialogue (especially whenever Rust is involved) were completely rich, stimulating, and simply well-written.  But the show’s finest appeal was the strong and captivating performance of its leads, Woody Harrelson and Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey.  The creepy and grim sensibilities also mightily boosted the mysterious charm of the entire tale.  Heck, the mood was gothic enough to provoke many fans to expect that a Lovecraftian, supernatural twist was going to happen. 

There are also some things I didn’t like about this show – like a couple of dull minutes spent on unnecessary scenes and the main villain turning out to be a cliché – but they were minimal.  Overall, this show has been awesome. 

Can’t wait for season 2. 

As an anthology series, a new cast, a new story, and a new setting are to be expected next season.  Rumors on who will be next season’s detectives range from “strong female characters” to Brad Pitt, which makes it pretty intriguing.  Whoever it will be, I expect that the quality would still be the same (or better) than season 1’s.