True Detective

Everything is quiet.

The outline of two individuals appears on the screen, and one seems to be carrying the other. Abruptly, there’s a wide shot of a barren landscape as a fire expands over the horizon.

Although “True Detective” begins its eight-episode arc with a grisly murder, this show is so much more than a standard detective drama.

Written by established novelist Nic Pizzolatto, the series focuses on the Louisiana State Police homicide detectives Rust Cohle and Martin Hart, played by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, respectively. Hart begins the show as the straight man, while Cohle has a more brooding and pensive disposition.

The show focuses on the conflicts between these partners and how their distinct personalities lead to trouble.

The detectives clash over Cohle’s connection with Hart’s wife, Maggie, played by Michelle Monaghan.

Hart’s marriage seems to have been on the rocks for a while, and with Cohle in the middle, there is no conceivable happy ending. The chaos between the married couple is forged extremely early in the show and will become more consequential as the plot progresses.

The main storyline in the anthology series is the investigators’ attempts to solve the aforementioned murder in 1995 Louisiana. However, this exploration is interspersed with clips from 2012 where Cohle and Hart are questioned about their old case.

These interrogation scenes contain some of the most thought-provoking and intriguing dialogue on television. Cohle, in particular, has many mini-monologues about life, death and religion, which set the ominous tone for the series.

It’s apparent that time has taken a toll on these two individuals, which leads the audience to question just what happened during this investigation.

One facet that makes this show so noteworthy is that the story of Cohle and Hart will end with the conclusion of the first season.

HBO has ordered this yearly series knowing that every eight episodes will result in a finished story and will be followed subsequently with a dissimilar cast and plot.

This ensures there will be no lulls during each season since storylines cannot be pushed until next year. Also, this miniseries-like format allows HBO to enlist more blockbuster actors because it doesn’t require as much of a time commitment.

In a world ravaged by nonsensical TV programming, it’s nice to see such a sharp and stimulating show from HBO every Sunday night.

The action scenes are incredible, but what really matters is underneath the surface. “True Detective” has been fantastic thus far, and as long as the show stays on the right track, HBO seems to have another Emmy-winning show on its hands.