Why is it Easier for True Detective to Win Smaller Awards?

By Reuben Levine | Feb 3, 2015

True Detective has effectively been shut-out at the Emmy’s, SAG awards, and Golden Globes. That is almost stunning considering the amount of attention that Matthew McConaughey alone received for his portrayal of Rust Cohle, a performance that has been partially credited with starting the McConaissance.

Even though we firmly believe McConaughey’s stellar performance shouldn’t overshadow the others in True Detective’s first season, it is odd that at least he has been unable to pull in any major awards. This is now in stark contrast to the smaller guilds, who have recently been very kind to True Detective.

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In the past few days along True Detective has won awards from the ADG and ACE — Art Direction and Editing, respectively. These smaller guilds are more than happy to recognize the art that goes into creating a season of True Detective, but it’s an entirely different beast for individual cast performances.

There have been so many great dramas in the past ten years that the field is now very competitive. And that’s a good thing. Great TV and great performances are a boon for everyone. True Detective is an interesting case because it hit the zeitgeist to hard and fast and was then pushed aside when it came time to hand out acting awards.

The competition is much different when looking at categories like editing or overall casting. True Detective excels in those categories and categories like them, and it’s easier to be recognized for being unique at something that has a much narrower focus.

Acting prowess can be something difficult to quantify, but something like editing may be easier to understand and judge. In the end, we don’t know why True Detective continues to be passed over when it comes to acting awards. And at this point it’s pretty much assumed to be the norm.

But the smaller guilds give True Detective a chance to prove itself in a different way, a way that is more unique than casting big-name actors. True Detective’s first season gave us fantastic performances that have been overlooked, but True Detective’s true artistry continues to be proven again and again by these smaller guilds.

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