True Detective

:

Season 3
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: Jan 12, 2014
Season #: 4, 3, 2, 1
User Score
6.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 242 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 167 out of 242
  2. Mixed: 36 out of 242
  3. Negative: 39 out of 242
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User Reviews

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  1. haltey
    Feb 27, 2019
    3
    Absolutely flat, boring and mundane narrative. The so-called "clues" were really red-herrings. As for the character development which is so praised in this season, I didn't feel any emotional connection with any of the characters, neither detectives nor victims. People praising characters should go and check movies like Prisoners or TV shows like Haunting of Hill House where charactersAbsolutely flat, boring and mundane narrative. The so-called "clues" were really red-herrings. As for the character development which is so praised in this season, I didn't feel any emotional connection with any of the characters, neither detectives nor victims. People praising characters should go and check movies like Prisoners or TV shows like Haunting of Hill House where characters really came alive and we felt their anguish or sadness.

    To be fair, Ali, Dorff and Amelia did gave amazing performances. In fact, I liked Dorff more than Ali in every scene he was. While Ali's character felt like a d**k at times, Dorff was always impressive and balanced.

    But story! oh boy, did it go all downhill? There was no suspense, no big reveal, no twist - just flat. As Amelia character asks in the final episode "Is that not the story worth telling?" NO, God No. There was nothing in that story to tell. The detectives were just lame - they were so incompetent, they couldn't even find a man with one eye till after 25 years, that too when he practically begged to be found by parking outside Wayne's house. The final so-called "twist" was also suggested by Amelia's ghost. So what were the detectives doing all the time? Wayne was so egoistic that he never read his wife's novel till end whereas the fact is that she was helping all through his investigation. These are the characters people are raving about..what a bunch of geniuses!

    If you want a good mystery show, watch Dark or How to get away with Murder. TD season 3 was an utter waste of time and money to me. You were warned.    … Expand
  2. taffie999
    Feb 21, 2019
    3
    I really wanted to like series 3, because series 1 blew me away. However, it was overly long, unbelievably slow and lacked any real tension. The main character was relentlessly miserable and uninteresting, and lacking any discernible intelligence, unlike Matthew McConaughey's character in series 1. Good dramas include light and dark, this story was one dimensional and completely lacked theI really wanted to like series 3, because series 1 blew me away. However, it was overly long, unbelievably slow and lacked any real tension. The main character was relentlessly miserable and uninteresting, and lacking any discernible intelligence, unlike Matthew McConaughey's character in series 1. Good dramas include light and dark, this story was one dimensional and completely lacked the dark, brooding atmosphere of series 1.. I would not want him working on any case involving my family. Halfway through the series I could not care less who had done the dirty deed, or what happened to the two detectives. The detective's wife was just an annoying diversion. As I write this I am watching Episode 7, and debating whether to even continue watching any further. I don't get the high scores left by others. and the reviewer who compared this favorably with Homeland must be watching a different programme.… Expand
  3. Falcon50c
    Jan 27, 2019
    3
    Neither the characters nor the story are engaging and there is no chemistry between the characters. Very stilted. Everyone mumbling doesn't make them deep or complex. Dorff especially has the charisma of an old shoe. And Ali is trying so hard to recreate the power of MM in season 1 it comes off as very forced.
  4. Glasso
    Feb 25, 2019
    1
    Full of irrelevant waffle that achieved nothing.

    A pedestrian story with time-shifts added in the vain hope to make it interesting.

    What a fail.
  5. P4inskiller
    Mar 28, 2019
    0
    The most boring TV show I have ever seen. The first and second seasons were masterpieces rich in black humour and interesting characters. But the third season..what is that?! I was watching every boring episode in the hope for something interesting, something special. But I was totally wrong: from the beginning to the end there is nothing. Only waste of time.
  6. gautrek
    Feb 15, 2019
    2
    The whole thing started out quite well, but eventually lost all steam. No way near TD1. The story seems to concentrate, not on what´s happened to these young victims and the case in itself, but more on dropping the occassional identitypoiitic rants. It is intensly boring to listen to silly lines about the so called "priviliged" white people. How are they priviliged, portrayed likeThe whole thing started out quite well, but eventually lost all steam. No way near TD1. The story seems to concentrate, not on what´s happened to these young victims and the case in itself, but more on dropping the occassional identitypoiitic rants. It is intensly boring to listen to silly lines about the so called "priviliged" white people. How are they priviliged, portrayed like trailertrash and/or racist towards everything that moves? Funny thing is, it wasn´t like that at all back in 1980, neither in 1990 nor 2019.. indeed saddening to see the producers of the TD series drop to such a low level. It would have been truly refreshing if the caracters didn´t mention in one single sentence this modern propaganda stereotypes and concentrated on the STORY and let the actors ACT in a realistic manner. Identity politics KILLS quality, it kills all interest. Why? Because it is simply a set of anachronistic lies that are easy to see through, and tiresome to have to listen to. Truly disappointed. This crap made all movies nowadays unwatchable, now it is starting to infect the former, lenghty quality Tv-shows as well.… Expand
  7. lovecreep
    Feb 25, 2019
    0
    this is not a real detective, but a sad ****
    why the hell was half the show taking love stories in the worst spirit of cheap melodramas??!!!
    even the second season is much more interesting than this ****
    I do not advise anyone to watch this sad porn!!!
  8. OlivierPiel
    Feb 11, 2019
    0
    So pompously overacted and so cliché. It seems every scene Ali has but one face: the dour fatalistic expression of gravitas of the All-American police detective faced with the greatest burden on the face of this earth. Death, Crime! I am the only one that can save humanity. Every time he finishes a sentence he should add: "'Cause I'm Batman! ". I had to give up midway through episode 1.So pompously overacted and so cliché. It seems every scene Ali has but one face: the dour fatalistic expression of gravitas of the All-American police detective faced with the greatest burden on the face of this earth. Death, Crime! I am the only one that can save humanity. Every time he finishes a sentence he should add: "'Cause I'm Batman! ". I had to give up midway through episode 1. Give me some Jake Peralta please.… Expand
  9. wazankash
    Jan 13, 2019
    0
    It feels like all of the characters are trying to speak in a 'dark' tone, and it fails to add depth to the screenplay because it feels forced.

    Every conversation the protagonist has with the side characters looks unnatural because it feels like the screenwriter is trying to put information into our heads. So far I didn't like it. Might give it a re-watch so that I can despise it even    It feels like all of the characters are trying to speak in a 'dark' tone, and it fails to add depth to the screenplay because it feels forced.

    Every conversation the protagonist has with the side characters looks unnatural because it feels like the screenwriter is trying to put information into our heads. So far I didn't like it. Might give it a re-watch so that I can despise it even more.

    TL;DR : Bad acting and screenwriting, laughably pretentious.    … Expand
  10. Ebtehal_Alhabib
    Feb 25, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Does anyone else feels betrayed that they showed us Rust and Hart and how this might all be connected to a bigger thing, and then they just forgot about it.

    I really feel betrayed for getting my hopes up for this season.    … Expand
  11. Pendalf
    Feb 26, 2019
    1
    I can't really say how they squander all in this season.
    It is not interesting, nor detective.
  12. abm0
    Mar 5, 2019
    1
    Aaand after making an S2 that successfully avoided the all-too-predictable option of trying to imitate S1, they still fell into the trap, just took them a while longer, time enough to make sure they fell harder. They tried to recreate not only the sinister type of story with possible supernatural implications from S1, they also tried to recreate the Rust Cohle character. And as if that badAaand after making an S2 that successfully avoided the all-too-predictable option of trying to imitate S1, they still fell into the trap, just took them a while longer, time enough to make sure they fell harder. They tried to recreate not only the sinister type of story with possible supernatural implications from S1, they also tried to recreate the Rust Cohle character. And as if that bad judgement wasn't enough, they tried to do it in an exasperatingly slow style where nothing of any consequence happens for 2-3 episodes at a time, and where after every line of dialogue you're made to wait at least 10 seconds before you get another one. Not that anyone ever has anything interesting to say.

    What a bad joke of a season. The past 4-5 episodes have been so fast-forwardable I'm at the point where I can easily check out and stop caring about the rest of the season. S2 was worlds better than this garbage.

    1/10 for using good actors tho.    … Expand
  13. bozon126
    Feb 28, 2019
    2
    The last episode was such a disappointment. The ascendancy of the female character over the weak male character. Don't even mention the resolution of the story line. They led us down so many rabbit holes to end like this. Not near as good as Season 1 or 2.
  14. big_soon
    Jan 8, 2021
    3
    Great actors can't save bad writing for this poorly paced stinker with zero tension, drawn out family drama, and a finale that seems like it was taken from a bad Ciminal Minds episode. What a waste of time! If you have any interest in this season at all, watch episode 4 and don't bother with the rest of it.
  15. Epicenter
    Jun 5, 2019
    1
    I felt totally cheated by True Detective series 3 because I had invested at least 10 hours of my life watching what I thought was a show about a real crime, when in fact it turned out to be a convoluted soap opera about the relationships of a detective with his wife and his colleague.

    The actual “crime” element could have been dealt with in about 3 episodes. Then I could have decided    I felt totally cheated by True Detective series 3 because I had invested at least 10 hours of my life watching what I thought was a show about a real crime, when in fact it turned out to be a convoluted soap opera about the relationships of a detective with his wife and his colleague.

    The actual “crime” element could have been dealt with in about 3 episodes. Then I could have decided not to waste my time watching the rest of the series. Please can you TV people get back to creating dramas that are:

    1. Plot driven, instead of character driven.
    2. In chronological order, instead of being chronlogically mashed up beyond all reason.
    3. Not used primarily as a vehicle for actors and directors to show off their skills.

    Although the first series of True Detective was excellent, I am not now minded to watch any more of these series if they should turn up.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

77
#77 Best TV Season of 2019
15
#15 Most Discussed TV Season of 2019
10
#10 Most Shared TV Season of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 35 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. The Times
    Reviewed by: Carol Midgley
    Jan 7, 2020
    80
    This is often a one-man show for Ali, sometimes wearing prosthetics to make him old, grey and suffering from dementia, and he is terrific in all three timelines. Great performances too from the missing children's dysfunctional, barneying parents. ... It's not yet as good as series one but there are rich, tragic seams here.
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  2. The Telegraph
    Reviewed by: Michael Hogan
    Jan 3, 2020
    80
    This was redneck noir: Twin Peaks meets Broadchurch, with a dash of The Killing. Atmospheric and beguiling, True Detective had its hooks into me again.
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  3. The Guardian
    Reviewed by: Rebecca Nicholson
    Dec 3, 2019
    60
    In the end, this is a decent, serviceable thriller, nasty enough to give the impression of not flinching away from the darkest natures of its characters, and sufficiently gripping to ensure that viewers should keep on watching, to find out who they fingered for the crimes of 1980, and why this particular case returns to haunt Hays, decades on, like so many TV detectives before him.
    Read full review
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