SummaryA 17-year hunt for a serial killer in Louisiana begins with Detectives Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Martin Hart (Woody Harrelson) joining the search in this eight-episode anthology series.
Created By:Issa López
❮ True Detective
Season 2
5 Seasons
Season Premiere:
Jun 21, 2015
Metascore
Generally Favorable
61
User score
Generally Favorable
6.5
My Score
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
49% Positive
20 Reviews
20 Reviews
51% Mixed
21 Reviews
21 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Jun 19, 2015
91
There's a lot of backstory, and there's a lot of plot that makes the first couple of episodes a bit difficult to ease into, but at the end of the second episode, Pizzolato's penchant for abrupt violence with a side of freakiness will leave you with panting for more.
Jun 19, 2015
75
Pizzolatto's writing is not without its irritations, particularly his dialogue.... Ultimately, the characters are too fascinating to turn loose of–particularly Farrell's explosive Velcoro and his political godfather Frank Semyon (Vince Vaughn).
User score
Generally Favorable
58% Positive
521 Ratings
521 Ratings
23% Mixed
207 Ratings
207 Ratings
19% Negative
170 Ratings
170 Ratings
May 28, 2025
10
Very lynchian. Gets unnecessary hate just for being dark and gritty. Try not to draw comparisons with the first season and you will enjoy it.
Sep 3, 2020
10
Do not listen to reviews which compare it negatively with season 1. This one is just as good, maybe even better, but it's different style. Writer was smart enough, not to try to remake the first season, it would've been bad. It isn't. It's brilliant. Except for the intro song which is absolutely terrible. Just cut the sound on it, and enjoy the rest.
Jun 12, 2015
70
You’ll probably miss the humor of the first True Detective but the brooding sourness of this one is fascinating in a different way, though it loses points for showing us a world that feels far more familiar than the one showcased in season one. When Ani, Ray, and Paul are drawn together as a unit, it takes a while to establish any kind of chemistry between them, because they’re all variations of the Mann-style, soul-sick badass.
Jun 22, 2015
60
Although it was wise not to try to repeat the double interrogation format of the first season, there are clever nods to those closed-room confessionals, and the show eventually eases into rewarding drive-and-talks between Farrell and McAdams.... What keeps this Detective from being quite as compelling as the first is the lack of early focus.
Jun 22, 2015
50
The second season's central mystery is enough to keep you watching, but you can say the same thing about Law & Order. The ordinariness is a quality that weighs heavily on True Detective because its cop-show genre is all over TV.
Jun 18, 2015
50
[Nic Pizzolatto's] chosen the hardboiled-detective genre as his main menu, and given us three eggs so overdone, you couldn’t even stick a fork in them.... Each of the lead actors is doing superb work: Farrell, McAdams, and Kitsch find distinctive ways of expressing their troubled pasts and difficult present-day situations.
Jun 18, 2015
40
I'm more bothered by the dialogue, which doesn't always ring true. Sunny California or not, there's nothing in the first three episodes to approach the sheer joy of Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey in a car together.
Nov 4, 2017
10
Все великолепно, поначало кажется что второй сезон проигрывает первому по всем параметрам, но к концу он раскрывается по полной и показывается себя отличной драмой
Jul 31, 2016
6
There are a number of very interesting elements at play in this second season of True Detective, from the central mystery at its core - one which may reference such iconic Hollywood entries at The Maltese Falcon - to at least some of the performances.
Dec 14, 2015
6
Season 2 of True Detective is certainly something of a letdown. Gone is the character interactions and quality of writing that drove the first season to such heights. Instead, Season 2 gives us double the protagonists, about half the quality interaction between them, and not a shred of humor (intentional or otherwise) in its entire 8 episodes. Seriously, these are four broken human beings caught in the middle of an impenetrable mystery involving shadowy organizations, clandestine individuals, and layers upon layers of what can only be described as 'HUH?!?' Even in hindsight, having watched the whole season, I cannot wrap my mind around the conspiracy and events that transpired. The first three episodes are painfully obscured, which is okay given that the show is a mystery story, but you need the audience to be able to grasp certain elements of your mystery even from the outset. Revisiting the characters...they are well acted, certainly. Colin Farrell especially shines in his role. But the bottom line is that these characters are broken human beings, so morose and depressing that watching their story unfold is more burdensome than it is entertaining. It's not that Rust Cohle and Martin Hart were cut-ups, but they were able to jest every once in awhile. I can't recall a single instance of these characters laughing once the whole season. There are literally scenes where Farrell and Vaughn are in a bar (complete with mopey guitar-girl who shows up entirely too much), and they appear to be holding a contest to determine which one can look more forlorn. It's one thing to be "hard-boiled" and quite another to be clinically depressive. The anthology aspect of True Detective is one of the most interesting parts of the show. The bottom line that it provides is that, if one season is lackluster, as TD:S2 was, it doesn't necessarily mean that the entire series is screwed. Lets hope they course-correct back to greatness in Season 3.
Aug 26, 2015
3
Way too difficult to follow and a script that just became parody. Who talks like that?? Too many times we were asking the question Who are they talking about? or even What are they talking about? The actors did not match the amazing performances of Season 1.
Aug 21, 2015
3
Really disappointed with this season. it doesn't even come close to season 1.. In terms of story / clue's / plot twists / occultism and detective work. I must say that my expectations where high.. (and dropped when i saw the trailer for season 2) but please go back to the occultism and real detective work... because i don't have the urge to watch a next episode (after the first one)




























