Entertaining Criticism: "True Detective"

        This season has been all about the movies, but it's important to remember that the offerings on cable television often provide stiff competition.Take for example "True Detective." Since its premiere on HBO Jan.12, this gritty cop thriller and has been getting a lot of buzz.  And in the first four episodes, the series already has a 9.4 out of 10 rating on IMDB.com. Not bad at all.

  Set in 1995, the series stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as Louisiana detectives.  Its movie-like production style and talented cast challenge some of the best films this year.     "True Detective" follows an anthology format. Similar to "American Horror Story," the series features a different plot, setting and characters each season. 
     Series creator Nic Pizzolatto, who also wrote two episodes of the hit show, "The Killing," composed every chapter of "True Detective".
         McConaughey, who has been trying to break out of the romantic-comedy shtick for years, plays Rust Cohle, an uncanny intellectual; Harrelson is Martin Hart, a straight-laced family man with a wife and kids. The two have been partners in Louisiana's Criminal Investigation Division for just three months, and they couldn't be more mismatched. When they begin probing the murder of an underage prostitute named Dora Lange, they form differing opinions about who the killer is.   Cohle believes it is the work of a serial killer but Hart disagrees. Although the plot begins in 1995, much of the series takes place 17 years later as Cohle and Hart tell investigators how they solved the Lange murder and discuss the collapse of their partnership. Apparently a similar killing has occurred. 
     The Lange murder is the central connection between these two officers, and the series focuses on how the murder affected Cohle and Hart, both as a team and as individuals. 
Critics and audiences alike have been amazed by the show's picturesque cinematography and surprising plot twists.                                                                                                                                                     "True Detective' may very well be the best show of 2014," said Andrew Romano, writer for TheDailyBeast.com.                                                                                                                           "Judging by the initial installments, it's not only one of the most riveting and provocative series I've seen in the last few years; it's one of the most riveting and provocative series I've ever seen. Period," he said.             The story of detectives Cohle and Hart will end with the series' eighth episode and it's already been dubbed a classic, so you better catch it before it's too late. "True Detective" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.