Will True Detective be Seen as a Way to Revive Careers?

At this point there’s just no denying that True Detective gave Matthew McConaughey a major bump. Even though he was in an upswing before True Detective with films like Mud, Dallas Buyer’s Club, and his small role in The Wolf of Wall Street.

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Still, it was True Detective that finally put him back in the spotlight, with Interstellar arguably being the first real work of the “McConaissance.” True Detective has now developed something of a reputation for career revivals with many expecting Vince Vaughn to make a similar transformation.

But that’s just one more thing that gets in the way of what True Detective is trying to do.

The first season of True Detective was a hit, and fans still continue to pay tribute to it in the form of spoofs and artwork. The expectations for the second season are sky-high, and are perhaps not helped by the fact that we recently had a potential leak of new details. The series does not also need to be seen as a venue for actors to revive their careers with a new actor in that role every season.

Part of the draw of True Detective has been the big star cast, which is unfortunate enough. Ideally, people should tune into True Detective solely on the strength of the work but that’s not necessarily how it works now. But as long as the quality remains high that’s not so much of an issue.

We all want Vince Vaughn to prove his dramatic mettle to a generation that may not know of his full capability, but having True Detective be a place for already big-name actors to re-prove themselves season after season is a rocky road. There’s something of a gimmick going on here, and it’s something that needs to be watched.

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