TV SERIES · 2014– · MEXICO
True Detective
- Created by
- Nic Pizzolatto, Issa López
- Network
- HBO
- Seasons
- 4
- Episodes
- 30
- Studio
- Passenger, Anonymous Content, Lee Caplin / Picture Entertainment
170 archived facts 8 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
An American anthology police detective series utilizing multiple timelines in which investigations seem to unearth personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within or outside the law.
170 Interesting Facts About True Detective
Interesting Facts (20)
- #001
- #002
- #003
- #004
- #005
- #006
- #007
- #008
- #009
- #010
- #011
- #012
- #013
The music playing under the title sequence in the second season is Leonard Cohen's song "Nevermind." For each episode the arrangement of the song is slightly different, highlighting various parts of the song and lyrics that may or may not relate to that episode. For example, one of the episodes ends with the words "I live among you, well disguised." This differs from the first season, where the title music was arranged the same way for every episode.
- #014
- #015
- #016
- #017
- #018
- #019
- #020
Production Story (42)
- #021
- #022
- #023
- #024
- #025
- #026
- #027
- #028
- #029
- #030
The music playing underneath the title sequence in season two is the song "Nevermind" by Leonard Cohen. For each episode, the edit of the song is slightly different, highlighting various sections of the song and its lyrics that may or may not be relevant to that particular episode. One of the episodes' titles, for example, ends with the words "I live among you, well disguised." This is different from season one, where the title music is edited the same way for all episodes.
- #031
- #032
- #033
- #034
One of creator, showrunner, and writer Nic Pizzolatto's initial remarks about the second season was that it was set around the "secret occult history of Los Angeles' transport system". He later admitted this was a joke in response to the frustration of constantly being asked the question "what is season two about?" so often and so early in the writing process. He found it funny that the quote actually gained traction, so he did nothing to debunk it.
- #035
- #036
- #037
- #038
- #039
After reading an interview director Cary Fukunaga gave to The Hollywood Reporter, in which he discussed his efforts to bring the latest James Bond film, No Time to Die (2021), into a post-#MeToo world and to ensure that the film's 'female characters are not just a trope,' actress Raeden Greer accused him of hypocrisy in The Daily Beast. Greer said Fukunaga had treated her exactly like a trope: Greer had been fired from True Detective (2014) for refusing to bare her breasts. She had a small speaking role in the first-season episode the director helmed, and Fukunaga had pressured her to appear topless. Greer refused because she had been told the role involved no nudity. This led to a tense ten-minute wait with the director, and Fukunaga fired her and gave her role to Amber Carollo, an extra with no acting experience who agreed to be nude. Greer said she felt humiliated and angry that what could have been a major career opportunity turned into a nightmare.
- #040
- #041
- #042
- #043
- #044
In an interview, Alexandra Daddario explained her decision to do her first nude scene in this series: "I'd never been naked before, so I was definitely nervous. But I really wanted to be part of the show, and I understood why the nudity was necessary for the character. The character is very different from what I'd done before. The nudity was just a part of it." She then added: "Before shooting the more intimate scenes, I tried not to think about it too much and just did it." In an interview years later, she said the experience made her feel comfortable enough to give another fully nude performance in the drama Lost Girls & Love Hotels, in which she starred in 2020.
- #045
- #046
- #047
- #048
- #049
- #050
- #051
Stephen Dorff was paired with Mahershala Ali in season 3. This is the second time Dorff has acted opposite an actor who has played the Marvel character Blade; the first was with Wesley Snipes in the first Blade (1998) film, while Ali will play Blade in the upcoming MCU film (2025) (his first appearance as Blade was technically in the post-credits scene of Eternals in 2021).
- #052
- #053
- #054
- #055
One of creator, showrunner and writer Nic Pizzolatto's first statements about the second season was that the season revolved around the 'secret occult history of the Los Angeles transportation system'. He later admitted that this was a joke he made in response to his frustration at being constantly asked 'what is the second season about?' very early in the writing process. He found it funny that the quote actually attracted attention, and so he did nothing to refute it.
- #056
- #057
The theme music of the second season is Leonard Cohen's song "Nevermind". A different arrangement of the song is used in each episode, and certain parts of the lyrics are highlighted. For example, one of the episode titles ends with the words "I live among you, well disguised". This differs from the first season, in which the same theme music was used in all episodes.
- #058
The first season is considered part of the Cthulhu Mythos, a literary subgenre stemming from the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Errol Childress's description as the "spaghetti monster with green ears" is a reference to Lovecraft's monster Cthulhu. There are also many references to Robert W. Chambers's short story collection The King in Yellow. These include Carcosa, the Yellow King and the black stars. Like creator Nic Pizzolatto, Lovecraft was greatly influenced by The King in Yellow.
- #059
The opening credits of the fourth season of Key and Peele directly parody the first season opening credits of this series. In addition, before each sketch Key and Peele are seen having philosophical (but humorous) conversations in the desert, another direct parody of the long and frequent driving-and-talking scenes in the first season.
- #060
- #061
- #062
Behind the Scenes (17)
- #063
- #064
- #065
- #066
- #067
- #068
- #069
- #070
- #071
When actress Raeden Greer read director Cary Fukunaga's interview with The Hollywood Reporter where he spoke of his efforts to bring the latest James Bond movie No Time to Die (2021) into a post-#MeToo world and ensure the film's "female characters [are] more than just contrivances," she quickly outed him as a hypocrite to the site The Daily Beast. She said a contrivance is exactly how Fukunaga treated her when he fired her from True Derective (2014) for refusing to expose her breasts. She had a small speaking role in a season one episode he directed and he tried to pressure her into going topless. She refused saying she was told the role wouldn't involve nudity. This led to a tense 10-minute standoff with the director, who then fired her and gave her role to Amber Carollo, an extra on set with no acting experience who agreed to strip nude. Greer said she was humiliated and outraged that what could have been a big career break for her ended up being a nightmare.
- #072
- #073
- #074
- #075
- #076
- #077
- #078
After reading director Cary Fukunaga's interview with The Hollywood Reporter, in which he discussed his efforts to bring the latest James Bond film, No Time to Die (2021), into a post-#MeToo world and to ensure that the film's 'female characters were not merely a device,' actress Raeden Greer accused him of hypocrisy in The Daily Beast. Greer said Fukunaga had treated her exactly like a device: Greer had been fired from True Detective (2014) for refusing to bare her breasts. She had a small speaking role in the first-season episode he directed, and Fukunaga had pressured her to appear topless. Greer refused because she had been told the role involved no nudity. This led to a tense ten-minute wait with the director, and Fukunaga fired her, giving her role to Amber Carollo, an extra with no acting experience who agreed to appear nude. Greer said she felt humiliated and angry that what could have been a major career opportunity turned into a nightmare.
- #079
Characters & Cast (68)
- #080
In an interview, Alexandra Daddario explained why she decided to do her first nude scene with this series: "It was the first time I was nude for anything, so I was definitely unnerved by that. But I really wanted to be part of the show, and I understood why the nudity and all of that was required of the character. The character is really different from anything that I've done before. The nudity was just part of that." She then added, "I tried not to think about it too much before shooting the more intimate scenes and just sort of did it." She said in an interview years later that this experience made her feel comfortable enough to perform fully nude again in 2020 for her starring role in the drama Lost Girls & Love Hotels.
- #081
- #082
- #083
- #084
- #085
- #086
- #087
- #088
- #089
- #090
Contains a major spoiler — show
Stephen Dorff is paired with Mahershala Ali in Season 3. This is the second time Dorff is playing opposite an actor who has played the Marvel character Blade, with Wesley Snipes playing him in the first Blade (1998) and Ali playing Blade in the fourthcoming MCU film (2025, his first appearance playing Blade was technically the post credits scene from Eternals in 2021).
- #091
- #092
- #093
- #094
- #095
In an interview, Alexandra Daddario explained why she decided to shoot her first nude scene with this series: "I was naked for the first time for anything, so I was definitely discouraged. But I really wanted to be part of the show, and I understood why the nudity and all of that was necessary for the character. The character is really different from anything I'd done before. The nudity was just a part of it." She then added, "Before the shoot I tried not to think about it too much. More intimate scenes, and I managed that too." In an interview years later, she said the experience made her feel comfortable enough to perform fully nude for her lead role in the 2020 series Lost Girls & Love Hotels.
- #096
- #097
- #098
- #099
- #100
- #101
- #102
- #103
- #104
- #105
- #106
- #107
In an interview, Alexandra Daddario explained her decision to do her first nude scene in this series: "I had never been nude before, so I was definitely nervous. But I really wanted to be part of the show, and I understood why the nudity was necessary for the character. The character is very different from what I had done before. The nudity was just a part of it." She then added: "Before shooting the more intimate scenes, I tried not to think about it too much and just did it." In an interview years later, she said this experience made her feel comfortable enough to give another fully nude performance in Lost Girls & Love Hotels, the drama in which she starred in 2020.
- #108
- #109
- #110
- #111
- #112
- #113
- #114
- #115
- #116
- #117
- #118
- #119
- #120
- #121
Stephen Dorff was paired with Mahershala Ali in Season 3. This was the second time Dorff acted opposite an actor who had played the Marvel character Blade; the first was with Wesley Snipes in the first Blade (1998) film, and Ali will play Blade in the upcoming MCU film (2025) (his first appearance as Blade was technically in the post-credits scene of Eternals in 2021).
- #122
- #123
- #124
- #125
- #126
- #127
- #128
- #129
- #130
- #131
- #132
- #133
- #134
- #135
One of creator, showrunner and writer Nic Pizzolatto's first statements about the second season was that the season revolved around 'the secret occult history of the Los Angeles transportation system.' He later admitted that this was a joke he made in response to his frustration at being constantly asked 'what is the second season about?' very early in the writing process. He found it funny that the quote actually attracted attention, and so he did nothing to refute it.
- #136
- #137
- #138
- #139
The title music of the second season is Leonard Cohen's song "Nevermind." A different arrangement of the song is used in each episode, and specific parts of the lyrics are brought to the fore. For example, one of the episode titles ends with the words "I live among you, well disguised." This differs from the first season, in which the same title music was used in every episode.
- #140
Creator and writer Nic Pizzolatto acknowledged the strong influence of the philosophical writings of Thomas Ligotti and Emil Cioran on the series: "I've been reading E.M. Cioran for years and consider him one of my favorite and, strangely, most nourishing writers of all time. As an aphorist, Cioran has no rival other than Nietzsche, and much of their philosophies are echoed by Ligotti."
- #141
The first season is regarded as part of the Cthulhu Mythos, a literary subgenre that comes from the works of H.P. Lovecraft. The description of Errol Childress as the "spaghetti monster with green ears" is a reference to Lovecraft's monster Cthulhu. There are also many references to Robert W. Chambers's short story collection The King in Yellow. Among these are Carcosa, the Yellow King and the black stars. Like creator Nic Pizzolatto, Lovecraft was also greatly influenced by The King in Yellow.
- #142
The title sequence of the fourth season of Key and Peele directly parodies the first season title sequence of this series. In addition, before each sketch, Key and Peele are seen having philosophical (but humorous) conversations in the desert; this is another direct parody of the long and frequent driving-and-talking scenes in the first season.
- #143
- #144
- #145
- #146
- #147
Easter Eggs & References (12)
- #148
- #149
- #150
- #151
- #152
- #153
- #154
- #155
- #156
- #157
- #158
The title credits of the fourth season of Key and Peele (2012) directly spoof the season one title credits of this show. Also, in every episode before each skit, Key and Peele are seen driving through the desert having philosophical (albeit humorous) conversations, in another direct spoof of the long and frequent scenes of driving and conversations in season one of this show.
- #159
Season one is considered a part of the Cthulhu Mythos, a literary subgenre that comes from the works of H.P. Lovecraft. The original description of Errol Childress, the "green eared spaghetti monster", is a reference to Lovecraft's monster, Cthulhu. There are also multiple references to the Robert W. Chambers collection of short stories, The King in Yellow. These include Carcosa, The Yellow King, and black stars. Much like creator Nic Pizzolatto, Lovecraft was heavily influenced by The King in Yellow.
Deeper Meaning (4)
- #160
Creator and Writer Nic Pizzolatto acknowledged the strong influence of Thomas Ligotti's and Emil Cioran's philosophical writings on the series: "I'd already been reading E.M. Cioran for years and consider him one of my all-time favorite and, oddly, most nourishing writers. As an aphorist, Cioran has no rivals other than perhaps Nietzsche, and many of his philosophies are echoed by Ligotti".
- #161
- #162
- #163
Creator and writer Nic Pizzolatto acknowledged the strong influence of the philosophical writings of Thomas Ligotti and Emil Cioran on the series: "I had already been reading E. M. Cioran for years and regarded him as one of my favorite and, strangely, most nourishing writers of all time. As an aphorist, Cioran has perhaps no rival other than Nietzsche, and much of his philosophy is also echoed by Ligotti."
Career & Awards (4)
Life & Family (3)
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work