HBO Spent Over $5 Million To Acquire True Detective

By Josh Hill | Oct 27, 2014

True Detective won massive praise for its first season on HBO, which is good news for a network that committed a lot of money to the series.

We don’t typically think of television as big budget entertainment, but that’s the direction the medium is heading. After all, an episode of Game of Thrones costs ten times what most small budget indie films cost these days. HBO has revolutionized how to budget a television show but they don’t just splurge on epic fantasy shows.

More from HBO

The story of how True Detective came to be on HBO is long and adventurous — and pricey, if you’re HBO.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, HBO was all-in on True Detective from the start, offering up full support for Pizzolatto as well as a pretty hefty salary.

"In addition to the pricey series commitment — episodes are running in the $4 million to $4.5 million range, once tax incentives factor in — HBO was willing to make a big bet on Pizzolatto. According to multiple sources, the network offered the barely known writer a two-year overall deal at nearly $1 million a year. And like that, the Louisiana novelist became a Hollywood showrunner."

The high price paid for the show might have something to do with how close Showtime was to getting the series, but that’s neither here nor there. HBO would have sunk indie film level budgets into True Detective regardless of who wanted to buy the show, because they just know how to churn out hits.

More from Show Snob