Stars often speak humbly about their projects, but True Detective stars McConaughey as Rustin "Rust" Cohle, an introspective loner detective who teams up with the hotheaded Detective Martin "Marty" Hart (Woody Harrelson) to investigate the murder of a 28-year-old woman in Louisiana. True Detective season 1 was widely considered to be one of the best shows of 2014, and McConaughey and Harrelson both picked up Emmy nominations for their work.
True Detective has had four seasons thus far, and each season's reception has been wildly varied. Season 2, starring Colin Farrell and Rachel McAdams, was seen as by far the worst, and a huge disappointment following the explosive first season. Mahershala Ali led the cast of True Detective season 3, which earned positive reviews but not a high viewership. True Detective season 4 stars Jodie Foster, and it earned impressive critical acclaim, though many felt it didn't reach the heights of the first season. Indeed, many consider True Detective season 1 by far the best, including Matthew McConaughey.
Matthew McConaughey Thinks True Detective Season 1 Is The Best (Not Because He Was In It)
The Rust Cohle Actor Was One Of The Show's Many Fans
In the 2000s, it felt like Matthew McConaughey was in every rom-com, but the actor did a hard pivot in the following decade, focusing more on serious dramas and psychological thrillers. This resulted in him winning an Oscar for The Dallas Buyers Club and starring in True Detective season 1. The actor recently took a six-year hiatus from acting, though he is returning with The Rivals of Amziah King, a crime thriller that premiered at the 2025 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival.
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Matthew McConaughey is one of Hollywood's most versatile actors, with a thrilling filmography that offers a nice balance between comedy and drama.
McConaughey sat down with Variety to talk about his movie, and the topic of True Detective came up. After confirming that he watched the Jodie Foster-starring True Detective season 4, he was not shy about itting that he not only finds True Detective season 1 to be the best in the series, but also "one of the greatest events in TV":
"My favorite season — and I feel like I can say this objectively — is Season 1.” [He’s picking up steam here, sounding tickled by his own ission.] “I happen to be in that one, so I thought that was incredible, incredible television and a great series. I watched it weekly, like everyone else, on Sunday night, and that was an event for me. And I got to sit back and enjoy that. I loved the water cooler talk on Monday morning. Even though I made it, I sort of forgot what was going to happen next. It was one of the great events in TV.”
While I will defend McConaughey's rom-coms to the end of time, he was right to make the career move that he did, and we got some truly incredible television out of his starring in True Detective. The dark and disturbed Rust Cohle is one of the best things about the season, adding intrigue and complexity, and it's all thanks to McConaughey's powerful performance.
Matthew McConaughey Watched True Detective Season 1 Weekly Like The Rest Of Us
It Really Was Perfect Water Cooler TV
Not every actor likes to watch their own work, but the fact that Matthew McConaughey not only does, but watched True Detective season 1 like a regular viewer, speaks to the powerful pull of the show. He even got so sucked in that he forgot what happened — despite his being a major part of the True Detective season 1 ending.
It also likely made the viewing experience a lot more fun for the star. While audiences of mystery series have the thrill of tuning in week after week to get a few more pieces to the puzzle before the big reveal, the actors appearing in these shows have to keep mum and sit back and wait to see how their characters are received. But McConaughey got to relive the tense, gripping story of True Detective season 1 for a second time.
McConaughey got to relive the tense, gripping story of True Detective season 1 for a second time.
McConaughey is also bang on that the Monday morning water cooler talk about True Detective season 1 was like no other. Not only was the killer of Dora Lange top of mind, but also things like whether we thought the characters went too far, and the symbolism of the antlers — a True Detective season 1 connection seen in season 4. Few series since have inspired such in-depth water cooler conversation.
Matthew McConaughey Is Right – True Detective Season 1 Was One Of TV's Greatest Events
TV Was Never The Same After
2014 was smack in the middle of the "Peak TV" era, but specifically, True Detective season 1 completely changed TV as we know it. Many recent TV series that have won critical acclaim are described as "cinematic", and True Detective is responsible for completely shaking up the medium. It was one of the most beautifully shot television shows of the decade, with thrilling sequences, and the single story it told was so much more engrossing than the "case of the week" crime procedurals airing at the time. True Detective season 1 felt like one long, spectacular movie.
Many recent TV series that have won critical acclaim are described as "cinematic", and True Detective is responsible for completely shaking up the medium.
Then there's also its proud star, Matthew McConaughey. At the time, though the medium was earning more respect than it ever had, with "prestige TV" being introduced into the cultural lexicon, the stars of these shows were often associated with the small screen. But McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, who got his start in TV before mainly becoming a film actor, showed that movie stars can star in television series and still earn respect, awards, and acclaim. Now, it seems like every A-list silver screen actor is appearing in their own TV series, from Nicole Kidman to Robert Downey Jr.
Matthew McConaughey & Woody Harrelson's 2025 True Detective Return Confirms Rust & Marty Must Not Come Back In Season 5
Matthew McConaughey & Woody Harrelson have played Rust and Marty again in 2025, which confirms why they must not return for True Detective season 5.
There's no telling if True Detective season 5 will live up to the legacy of the show's inaugural season, but if it doesn't, that's okay. It'll still be part of an incredible TV event, and we'll always have True Detective season 1 rewatches. As McConaughey says, it was "incredible, incredible television."
True Detective
- Release Date
- January 12, 2014
- Network
- HBO Max
- Showrunner
- Nic Pizzolatto
Cast
Rust Cohle
Ray Velcoro
WHERE TO WATCH
- Directors
- Cary Fukunaga
- Writers
- Nic Pizzolatto
- Creator(s)
- Issa López, Nic Pizzolatto
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