Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey Play Cops and Killers for HBO’s ‘True Detective’

By  · Published on September 9th, 2013

trailer true detective

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson are taking the leap to HBO like so many great Buscemis and Daniels and McBrides and Jessica Parkers before them, for True Detective, a gritty and sprawling crime drama helmed by Cary Fukunaga. Though many of you probably saw the trailer after the season premiere of Boardwalk Empire last night, those who missed it can check it out right now.

McConaughey and Harrelson play Rust Cohle and Martin Hart, respectively, two Lousiana detectives entwined in a 17-year chase for a serial killer. A freakish murder in 1995 that would not look out of place on the set of NBC’s Hannibal is the basis for their investigation; the series appears to jump back and forth between their initial finding and 2012, when the case is reopened. Watch the trailer here:

When Harrelson asks McConaughey if he wonders if he’s a bad man at the top of the trailer, you already know the answer. This is HBO, and whether or not these are good people at heart, there’s going to be more bad than good at play. The question is: what are the detectives going to do to find this serial killer that will make for compelling television? I spy a lot of controversial interrogation methods, possibly? This is not a buddy cop show.

It’s worth mentioning that this is the second Louisiana-based TV show HBO has produced with “true” in the title, however it is the first vampire-free one…that we know of. This is only the trailer, after all.

True Detective premieres on HBO in January 2014.

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