Detective-Mystery Films are usually considered a sub-type of crime/gangster films (or film noir), or suspense or thriller films that focus on the unsolved crime (usually the murder or disappearance of one or more of the characters, or a theft), and on the central character - the hard-boiled detective-hero, as he/she meets various adventures and challenges in the cold and methodical pursuit of the criminal or the solution to the crime. The plot often centers on the deductive ability, prowess, confidence, or diligence of the detective as he/she attempts to unravel the crime or situation by piecing together clues and circumstances, seeking evidence, interrogating witnesses, and tracking down a criminal.

The television landscape is changing, thanks to the growing influence of cable and the rise of new platforms like Netflix. Programming’s taking place year-round, seasons are getting shorter, higher profile actors are taking small screen roles — and lately a new model has arisen that dares to revolutionize the life of a narrative.

Before determining the storyform of True Detective, one must first determine the Main Character.2 Audiences experience a story through the eyes of a Main Character. We empathize with them and we become intimately involved with their personal problems. In most stories—those that last less than two hours—the determination of this viewpoint is simple. True Detective took eight hours to tell, complicating this process with two very strong characterizations and an uncommon aspect of story structure.

Much has been written about True Detective and it has been widely discussed in terms of gender, class and race. As we import these series and many others into our laptops and our living rooms, we also bring with them gendered, raced and classed value and taste hierarchies. While there has been much discussion of the new wave of “feminist television” there remain significant issues in terms of gendered conceptions of taste, value and quality.

I've never been quite so simultaneously awed by and furious with a show as I have been with True Detective. How can it be so intelligent on matters of slow-burning grief and small-town bigotry and yet so dumb – really dumb – on the subject of women?

In this interview Andrew talks to Nic about the auteurship of True Detective. "Part of what I think is so interesting about True Detective is that it’s an even purer form of auteur TV than, say, Deadwood—a show that was scripted in a writer’s room and realized by multiple directors. True Detective is one writer, one director, one story per season. You control the story and tell it from beginning to end."