The Tragedy of Shows Copying True Detective

Whenever something popular hits, it spawns a slew of copy cat acts to try and cash in on a formula that works. That’s all fine and dandy for capitalism but it’s a bit of a problem for the creative gene in us all that is rubbed the wrong way when we see copy cat acts pop up that are so blatantly derivative of a previously organic source.

We see it all the time, as the organic era of 90s grunge in Seattle spawned the painfully derivative post-grunge era of the late 90s that gave us abortions like Creed and Nickleback to answer Nirvana and Pearl Jam. The same phenomenon is being seen thanks to the gigantic success of True Detective on HBO.

While the show has seemingly revolutionized the miniseries, it has also spawned off a slew of shows that are dangerously close to being rip offs as they bare the same dark tone that True Detective did in it’s inaugural run.

Let’s be careful what we call a copycat series though, as FX’s Fargo was absolutely phenomenal and original and shouldn’t be lumped in with the likes of copycat series that will follow. Shows will continue to crop up that copy True Detective but we can’t allow that to change how we feel about the original. It’s okay for shows to be inspired by True Detective, but with the success and quality of the series, we must brace for the tidal wave of copycats that is swelling as we speak.