2014 Underrated Crime Drama Named the Greatest First Season of a Television Show of All Time
True Detective is an anthology crime drama from HBO starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. The first season of the series, which is about a pair of police detectives in Louisiana who pursue a serial killer over the course of 17 years, was recently ranked at the top of TV Line's "Best First Seasons of TV Shows."
When speaking about the initial season, Michelle Monaghan, who plays the wife of Harrelson's character, told Collider, "There are true cliffhangers with every episode. It was the kind of writing that was very existential, so I would read it, and then I would read it again. There are a lot of things that Rust [McConaughey's character] said that were very provocative and very thought-provoking, and that I really wanted to contemplate myself. I just thought, 'Gosh, I have not come across anything like that, ever.'"
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Monaghan continued, "It was so interesting to see where these characters went. It spans 17 years, and what I found to be really fascinating is how people change, over the course of 17 years. And then, in the backdrop is this ongoing investigation, and how it changes them and how their relationship with each other changes, throughout that whole entire process. That's what really intriguing."
The first season of True Detective won five Emmy Awards and received four Golden Globe nominations. It also won TCA Awards and a BAFTA. The show went on to release a second, third, and fourth season-but they all follow completely different, self-contained stories with a different set of actors. The fifth season is currently in development.
When asked about reprising the role for a future season of the show, McConaughey told Variety, "We nailed that first season. But if it's a script like that first one, with that fire and originality, I'd do it. And you talk about monologues. Well, Rust Cohle had a monologue. He talked about everything that was inside him, and he didn't care if you were listening or not. There's freedom in that."
However, Harrelson disagreed. When asked about returning, he told Variety. "In fairness, never. No chance because it turned out great. I love that it turned out the way it did, and if anything, doing another season would, I think, tarnish that."
Other shows that made the list of "Best First Seasons of TV Shows" are Stranger Things, The Bear, and Homeland.
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This story was originally published May 10, 2026 at 9:08 AM.