True Detective Doesn’t Need Another Matthew McConaughey

By Reuben Levine | Aug 13, 2014

After a performance as Rust Cohle that most everyone agrees was a stunning and career-reviving display, the expectations for season two have become very high. And perhaps a tad unreasonable. McConaughey has been nominated for an Emmy — as has co-star Woody Harrelson — but that doesn’t mean that fans should go into season two expecting another transformative performance.

The actors currently rumored for lead roles (Taylor Kisch, Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, and Elisabeth Moss) don’t need to be a Cohle to be great. Not that we’re expecting a repeat, per say, as Cohle was a unique character and confirmed to not be returning for the second season.

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All eyes are now on season two to see who can get as close to McConaughey’s performance as possible, and if nobody can, you can expect disappointments. The problem with this is that it isn’t something that should be expected in the first place. True Detective helped revitalize McConaughey’s career — though it’s worth noting that Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar may have done that anyway. It’s too soon to tell on that.

Season two may do the same for another actor, such as Vince Vaughn, the major surprise of the current rumors. But we have to move away from Rustin Cohle as a character, and from Matthew McConaughey as an actor. Part of that responsibility lied with creator/writer Nic Pizzolatto, who is now tasked with writing a show that is different enough from season one but retains the same tone and themes.

McConaughey’s performance is worth praising, but after the 2014 Emmy’s on August 25th, it will hopefully be time to continue looking forward and not back anywhere near as much,