True Greatness

The fascinating life of a New Jersey mob boss and his friends and family. A high school chemistry teacher who receives news that he has cancer resorts to making meth to secure his family’s financial future. The epic struggle between the police force and drug dealers for the streets of Baltimore.

These are all descriptions of what are considered to be the greatest shows in the history of television. The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, and The Wire, respectively, are all incredible dramas that captivated audiences of varying sizes for years. Each has cases constructed in their favor as the show that deserves the honor of the #1 spot on any ranking TV show. Mark Lawson from theguardian.com published an article titled “Why The Sopranos is the Best TV Drama of All Time”, and in it he essentially argues that The Sopranos was the first TV show to have the ability to portray a world like the mafia so accurately with the show being on HBO. This line by Lawson sums up his point well, “…This unprecedented realism was fascinatingly mixed with an equally unusual surrealism…” Allen St. John wrote a column for forbes.com where he explains why Breaking Bad is the undisputed king of TV, claiming that what sets it apart is how creator Vince Gilligan had his protagonist change so drastically (and compellingly) from the beginning of the show to the end. In an incredibly lengthy debate on vulture.com, Matt Zoller Seitz gives a plethora of well-thought out reasons as to why The Wire trumps The Sopranos and all other shows, the most notable being consistency, realism, and superior storytelling. There really isn’t a doubt that these three television shows have cemented their spots on the TV Show Mount Rushmore. Full disclosure, if forced to pick which overall show was the best, I’d choose The Wire. But that is not what I’m arguing for here. See, I believe that debating which individual season of television reigns supreme is a slightly easier one to settle. And that is because the winner of that “debate” is True Detective’s debut season, and it’s not even close.

“Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson together on the small screen? Are you kidding me?” This was my reaction upon learning of the existence of True Detective, HBO’s gem of a miniseries that premiered in January of this year. Created by Nic Pizzolatto, True Detective blends narrative, mystery, wittiness, philosophical rants, beautiful women taking their clothes off, and Matthew McConaughey doing Matthew McConaughey things like no other show that has ever existed. The basic premise is two detectives are paired up to solve a case that starts out as a murder that appears to be the work of a cult follower. The two detectives end up being less-than-ideal matches for each other due to differing beliefs and views of the world. The tension between them becomes a prominent aspect of the show as the case they are investigating leads them further down the ominous side of humanity and the inner-workings of their own human consciousness. What may sound like a dark and somber cop drama is actually a fascinating examination of what motivates people to do what they do. Also, lucky for the viewers, the two detectives, Rust Cohle (McConaughey) and Marty Hart (Harrelson), are extremely interesting individuals. Harrelson is great in his portrayal of the good-natured but deeply flawed Marty, but it's McConaughey as Rust Cohle that absolutely steals the show. Cohle is an arrogant, aloof figure who basically enjoys ruining people’s days by spouting off negativity in the form of straight facts about life. No one wants to hear what he is saying based off his grim nature, but the dude spits the hard truth like nobody’s business. Cohle’s conversation topics of choice include the absurdity of religious congregation, the meaning of pessimism, and the Membrane theory. As he even says himself, “I’m not fun at parties.” Well put, Rust. Despite all that, Cohle is unquestionably the most compelling, unpredictable, and intriguing character I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen some good ones. Walter White (from Breaking Bad) was incredible in his transformation from ordinary schoolteacher to menacing drug lord, Don Draper (Mad Men) is an extraordinarily complex and troubled character, and Tony Soprano was, to put it succinctly, an absolute boss (pun intended). Apologies to all those great fictional men, but Rust Cohle just has them beat. All the proof I need is the final 8:35 of the 4th episode of the season, where Cohle singe-handedly…you know what? I don’t even want to say it. Here, go watch it for yourself.

Now, True Detective has certainly been lauded by critics, I hope I haven’t made it seem like this was some type of abysmal show that has been dismissed by the public. Besides Andy Greenwald, TV “analyst” for grantland.com who has made no bones declaring his distaste for the show, the overwhelming majority to True Detective has been, well, overwhelmingly positive. That being said, very few have placed it among the ranks of the all-time greats. Many point out that a show that has only produced 8 episodes can not be even mentioned in the same breath as the titans that have been previously mentioned. To that, I say why not? If what you’re watching is pure excellence, then why does it matter how long it has been around. For example, about 8 years into his career, LeBron James transformed himself from “best player in the league” to “best player since Michael Jordan”. If he’s the best since Jordan, what’s stopping us as the basketball community from ranking him as the #2 NBA player to ever live? Just because he is only 10 years into an active career? Why do we have to wait for him to decline with old age and retire to give him his silver medal? What we are seeing out of LeBron is a level of sheer dominance that really hasn’t been seen in the NBA since THE CONSENSUS BEST PLAYER EVER DID IT 20 YEARS AGO. Excuse me, that was uncalled for.

True Detective has brought us a product that has never really been witnessed before on television, which is quietly really difficult to do considering the wide variety and insane quantity of shows that have reached our television sets during the Golden Age of Television (the past 15 years). I’d even argue that creating a single season that garnered as much attention and acclaim as True Detective did in only 8 episodes was even more impressive than if it was done in, say, 16 or 22. Pizzolatto had to compress a multi-layered story and fit everything he wanted to tell into less than 8 hours of air time. Still, none of the show felt rushed or out of rhythm, which is a testament to the everyone involved with the show, such as the writing staff, director Cary Joji Fukunaga, and all the actors and actresses. The show was able to construct an elaborate and developed plot with a satisfying resolution despite only running for 2 months. More impressive now that I put it into perspective, huh?



True Detective also has managed to consistently stay in the news months after season one’s final episode aired thanks to a devoted fan base that is constantly demanding hints for next season’s location, plot, characters, etc. Rumors seem to fly around every week over who will be cast in the lead roles. The names that seem to have stuck are Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, Taylor Kitsch, and possibly Elisabeth Moss. Translation: GET. HYPED. My last piece of advice that I have left to give to you is to hop on the bandwagon now before all the seats are taken. Remember, the first season was only 8 episodes, so it is very easy to catch up. True greatness doesn’t come around very often. But when it does, and we realize its brilliance as it’s happening, the only possible course of action is just to let yourself be taken along for the ride.