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Season guide

True Detective: Season 1

8 episodes Premiered Jan 12, 2014 Updated Jul 20, 2026

True Detective is an American anthology crime drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto for the premium cable network HBO. The series premiered on January 12, 2014. Each season of the series is structured as a self-contained narrative, employing new cast ensembles, and following various sets of characters and storylines. The series is an anthology series in which police investigations uncover the personal a

Season overview

True Detective is an American anthology crime drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto for the premium cable network HBO. The series premiered on January 12, 2014. Each season of the series is structured as a self-contained narrative, employing new cast ensembles, and following various sets of characters and storylines.

The series is an anthology series in which police investigations uncover the personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within and outside the law. The show's narrative often employs multiple timelines and explores themes of darkness and the human condition.

In the first season, the story revolves around Louisiana State Police Detectives Rust Cohle and Martin Hart, who are brought in to revisit a homicide case they worked in 1995. The inquiry unfolds in present day through separate interrogations, where the two former detectives narrate the story of their investigation.

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Episodes

S1·E1

The Long Bright Dark

Jan 12, 2014 · 57 min

Former Louisiana State CID partners Martin Hart and Rustin Cohle give separate statements to a pair of investigators about the murder of a prostitute, Dora Lange, 17 years earlier.

S1·E2

Seeing Things

Jan 19, 2014 · 56 min

Under pressure to land a suspect in the Lange murder, Quesada warns Hart and Cohle that they might be replaced by three detectives from a new task force. The pair lobbies for extra

S1·E3

The Locked Room

Jan 26, 2014 · 56 min

A hidden image at the burned-out church leads Cohle and Hart to Joel Theriot, a tent-revival minister whose parishioners finger a scarred “tall man” seen with Dora Lange. Brought i

S1·E4

Who Goes There?

Feb 9, 2014 · 55 min

Hart and Cohle hunt for their newly identified suspect, Reggie Ledoux, a meth cooker who shared a cell with Dora Lange's husband and recently skipped parole. As Hart's personal lif

S1·E5

The Secret Fate of All Life

Feb 16, 2014 · 55 min

A violent denouement in the forest clears the Dora Lange case and turns Cohle and Hart into local heroes. Each man settles into a healthier rhythm of living as Hart returns to his

S1·E6

Haunted Houses

Feb 23, 2014 · 56 min

Maggie reveals Cohle's activities in 2002, when his relationship with Hart fractured and he quit the force.

S1·E7

After You've Gone

Mar 2, 2014 · 51 min

Hart and Cohle call a truce to investigate a series of disappearances that may be related to the Dora Lange murder and the Tuttle family.

S1·E8

Form and Void

Mar 9, 2014 · 53 min

An overlooked detail provides Hart and Cohle with an important new lead in their 17-year-old case.