Why is it Not Okay for True Detective to Have an Off Season?
Does True Detective season two deserve the backlash? Why is an off season a death sentence?
It’s true that not many liked the second season of True Detective. If that weren’t abundantly clear before, it certainly would be now after the recent award snubs. True Detective became one of HBO’s most talked about unintentional joked, and by the end just about nobody took it seriously. There are reasons for that, and some of them are valid.
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But he backlash that season two experienced was, and continues to be, almost unprecedented. The complete opposite of the first season, True Detective season two has been derided like almost no other current show. Part of this is because people feel head over heels for the first season, and even director Cary Fukunaga has stated that expectations were just too high.
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It’s the passion for the first season the ensured that season two would be treated unfairly. Articles from the likes of Forbes and Design Trend called for its cancellation. It’s not often that a show has a perfect run, and True Detective is certainly not an exception to that rule. But the vitriol is ultimately unwarranted.
By effortlessly worming its way into the heart of popular culture, True Detective set itself up for its own destruction without knowing it. Unfortunately it feels as if many people will only tune in to watch season three just to see if it could possibly be any worse that season two.
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The reception to season two quickly obliterated all of the goodwill and excitement that True Detective had previously built up, and that’s a shame.