FX CEO calls out True Detective for competing as Best Drama series
By Josh Hill
The decision by HBO to enter their series True Detective as a Best Drama series and not as a Best Miniseries or TV Movie was a move that we knew wouldn’t please everyone and it very much hasn’t. While some have come out in support of the move, like Matt Weiner — the series creator of likely competitor Mad Men — others are calling dirty pool and are not happy about the choice.
Specifically, FX CEO John Landgraf has called Ho out on the decision to enter hat he clearly sees as a miniseries in a category he doesn’t feel it belongs.
"“My own personal point of view is that a miniseries is a story that ends, a series is a story that continues. To tell you the truth, I think it’s actually unfair for HBO to put ‘True Detective’ in the drama series category because essentially you can get certain actors to do a closed-ended series, a la Billy Bob Thornton in ‘Fargo’ or Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in ‘True Detective,’ who you can’t get to sign on for a seven-year deal.”"
This seems like sour grapes as the main gripe Landgraf has with the decision is likely stemming from the fact that American Horror Story has never competed as Best Drama despite it being the same season-by-season formula that True Detective follows.
It’s worth mentioning that the two shows are on different levels of quality but that seems to be beside the point.
While not a popular decision to everyone, True Detective is coming hard after a Best Drama Emmy and no one is going to throw them off that course.