An analysis of Genre and Sub-genre in US TV drama with specific reference to "True Detective", Season 1 Episode 1 "The Long Bright Dark" and Season 2 Episode 8 "Omega Station"

With the first season of HBO’s police procedural “True Detective”, what I considered to be

the dying genre of the televised detective show - "the working processes of solving crimes in

a methodical often weary and footslogging way” [1] was revitalised. The recent trend of the

cynical reboot has in my mind sullied the genre: saturation of endless CSI reruns and Hawaii

Five O seeming only to exist for marketing (the infamous Subway product placement [2]

scene even has a character recite their selling line). So when HBO introduced gritty

environments, morally questionable protagonists and frequently bizarre intertextual

references to cosmic horror and Greek Tragedy; audiences lapped it up, with many calling

True Detective the renaissance of the modern television series – “the most ambitious TV

drama for a long time”[3]

It is my belief that a use of stylistic elements such as difference of mood/tone, atmosphere

and the hybridisation of subgenres has created the new popularity for the show with

audiences who do not necessarily recognise the conventions of the previously derivative

Police Procedural format. I would argue that this makes True Detective the next evolution of

the genre.

In a visual style typical of the US TV drama, the opening credits are the first we see of each

episode – and act as a kind of signifier for what is about to take place in the narrative.

Instantly, we can tell that True Detective doesn’t adhere to any police procedural

conventions: we are led into the agency of the characters in the narrative via a montage of

atmospheric, seemingly unconnected images – characters’ faces are superimposed over

elements of the mise en scene; Matthew McConaughey’s ‘Rust Cohle’ is awash with fire

whilst strippers are juxtaposed against truck stops. The disconnect works on a thematic level,

as the seeming-binary opposites of religion and sex combine to create a disturbing effect,

fitting with the overarching narrative of Season 1. There is almost no connotation that this is

a detective show; we never see the flashes of a badge or hectic gunfights – instead focusing

on the atmosphere True Detective so delicately cultivates, as the show right from the

beginning attempts to distance itself from the common clichés of the Police Procedural.

T Bone Burnett’s use of soundtrack is pivotal here too; there’s none of the genre signifiers

like the jangly keys or slapped bass of Law and Order, the producer instead utilising the

gloomy Americana of “Far from any road”. This unconventional choice of music extends

into season 2, with its use of Leonard Cohen’s “Nevermind”, the lyrical structure of which

subtly changes from episode to episode. In fact, the construction of True Detective’s now

iconic opening titles has extended into other media, with prime examples being the opening

titles of Netflix’s “Making a Murderer” [4] and even Taylor Swift’s “Style” music video [5].

True Detective Season 1 (left) and Taylor Swift’s “Style” (right)

I’d argue that True Detective’s filmic quality, it’s frankly unmatched construction as a

television serial borrowing generic elements from cinema, creates a new hybrid. The first

season of the anthology series benefit heavily from having only one director and writer over

the 8 episode run, therefore director Cary Joji Fukunaga’s auteur vision is clear throughout –

instead of the often sporadic focus in other conventional, multiple director serials. Technical

codes such as the sweeping helicopter shots of the Erath crop fields in episode 1, film grain

and 35mm film became common and recognisable of True Detective. Bordwell talked about

the way these elements can become conventional to the work of a director – creating a

‘genre’ in itself. (6)

Season 1 left, Season 2 right

Perhaps the greatest example of cinematic influence can be found in the fourth episode of

Season 1 “Who goes there” [7], which ends with a 6 minute long take action sequence

following Rust through a botched robbery. Memorable scenes such as this that had audiences

buzzing were critical in the success of the show, and this only came from the filmic

techniques that True Detective used – showing that the future of television could potentially

be a blend of the two media.

The casting was also very unconventional of a television show when Season 1 premiered, as

HBO secured the contracts of A-List actors such as Matthew McConaughey, Woody

Harrelson and Michelle Monaghan. It is often the case that big names start on television and

‘graduate’ to films, however with True Detective it was the inverse; recognisable stars came

to the smaller screen –signifying a new era for television. The marketing for Season 1

focussed heavily on the iconography of the bankable stars. This technique was used again in

Season 2 with Vince Vaughn and Rachel McAdams. Is this indicative of the prestige True

Detective offers to actors? It’s a technique that, for example, the Cohen Brothers also us

extensively.

Star power usually associated with Hollywood blockbusters was heavily used in the shows promotion, as seen in these

posters (season 1 left, season 2 right)

Sub-generic references (literary as well as cinematic) within each season of True Detective

are vital at a thematic level – Season 1 heavily uses the gothic as well as bizarre elements of

Lovecraftian horror. The central enigma of the “Yellow King” and “Carcosa” in Season 1

acts as an intertextual reference to R.W Chambers’ supernatural novel The King in Yellow

[8], a collection of short stories based around the titular king. Allusions to the text are made

in the season premiere “The Long Bright Dark” in Dora Lange’s notebook, quoting the first

act of the play

“Along the shore the cloud waves break,

The twin suns sink behind the lake,

The shadows lengthen

In Carcosa.”

The influence of this almost throwaway detail is used in Rust’s hallucinations – he sees visual

manifestations of the supernatural elements that permeate the show.

“Along the shore the cloud waves break”

“The twin suns sink behind the lake”

In regards to ‘Carcosa’ – a central enigma throughout the season – its exact meaning is left to

the audience. In the finale “Form and Void” [9], Rust and Marty follow the killer to his lair,

which turns out to be a labyrinthine, overgrown fortress. Is this physical setting Carcosa, is it

a mindset or metaphysical space, or does Rust himself glimpse the cosmic entity of Carcosa

in his final, gigantic hallucination of a spiralling void in space? Writer Nic Pizzolatto

interestingly doesn’t provide any answers to this; the genre of the Police Procedural would

traditionally have an epilogue in which unresolved narrative strands were addressed,

however True Detective leaves the central enigma unsettlingly open.

Left, Rust in Carcosa or, right, Rust with Carcosa?

These ‘deep structural’ narrative techniques helps create the constant a feeling of

otherworldliness throughout season 1: horror genre signifiers such as the occult, enigmatic

iconography (spirals and stars as a motif) and fleeting references to an ancient Lovecraftian

evil (“He’s all around us, before you were born and after you die”) connote that man’s

barbarism is innate, and - with the final sweeping helicopter pans of the landscape (ending at

the tree where Lange’s body was found in the pilot) - rooted in the environment. Musing like

this on human nature and the origin of evil could be regarded as a “higher” ideological and

thematic concept, not commonly found in the genre.

Furthermore, the show’s construction displays horror genre influences: agonizingly slow

camera pans borrowed from psychological horror and the drone of the soundtrack only

heighten the sense of dread that audiences are encouraged to feel.

True Detectives’ Yellow king left and Chambers’ character right

I’d say character agency within the narrative is a big part of what sets True Detective apart

from others in the genre. Whilst not totally relatable-to, the characters seem more realistic

than any cardboard cut-out with a badge in CSI. Season 1’s Rust is an oddity, a nihilistic

atheist investigating ritualised killings within the Deep South. Rust’s philosophic musings on

humanity are a far cry from Ted Childs’ guidance to writers of police procedurals: " Dialogue

scenes are short and sharp rather than intriguing"[10]

On surface level Season 1 character Marty appears more adjusted to society than Rust,

however he is often an abusive, unfaithful alcoholic. In a scene within episode 1, Marty even

lampoons the commonly detective clichés: “You know I've seen all the different types. We all

fit a certain category”, almost self-referentially addressing the audience to tell them True

Detective will be different. Writer Pizzolatto stated that he ‘wanted to look at the relationship

between these men and how it changed” [11i] and how “I wasn't interested in doing what

everyone else was doing. The point wasn't to write another serial-killer show” [11ii]

The character relationships between the two detectives are akin to those between Holmes and

Watson in Sherlock Holmes [12]; a strange but highly gifted detective and his more rational

‘normal’ partner acting as an intermediary to the audience. By contrast, Season 2’s character

relationships most closely resemble Polanski’s Chinatown [13] – an ensemble cast of

multiple detectives working on a more sprawling, often confusing case as they exist within a

backdrop of low level government corruption and carry a bleak tone fully steeped in Film

Noir convention.

This extends into the technical codes that make up the Season: action scenes within the

seedy bars of L.A are all dimly lit and constant camera dolly movement help create the

intrusive atmosphere – all characteristics of Film Noir.

Film Noir was a huge influence on Season 2 yet still in the finale, Omega Station, as the

denouement unfolds we see a reverse situation to the noir tradition of ‘punishment’: the

protagonists are dead and the villains ultimately win, progressing in the ranks of both local

government and the corrupt police department. The serialised Police Procedural rarely ends

in this way, so audiences’ expectations were subverted. Season 2 also owes much to the

works of David Lynch; the seedy side of L.A is very reminiscent of Mulholland Drive [14],

as is Frank’s hallucinatory final walk in the desert. Ray dreams of his death in an earlier

episode, where his father tells him of his death among the “giants” – all to a cover of Bette

Midler’s Some Say Love performed by a cowboy – a very absurd and Lynchian image.

Notice the similar framing of Rays’ dream, left, and Rays’ Death

I’d say that the way Pizzolatto’s writing works in assembling the influences of other literary

and televisual genres, complemented by the directorial vision and experience of Fukunaga,

contributes enormously to True Detective’s success. The show’s first season was such a hit

because it was so different to anything that came before; but yet (as an illustration of Neale’s

idea of repetition and difference) (15) it had sufficiently recognisable conventions to keep

audiences loyal. In regards to season 2, Pizzolatto’s writing unintentionally alienated much of

the audience due a lack of recognisable conventions, leading to the harsher critical reception

it received "My big problem here is that the finale felt entirely disconnected from the rest of

the show." [16] Although many slated season 2, I would say that the creators attempts to at

least create something new was admirable – and hopefully with a solid season 3 on the way,

True Detective will fully cement itself as one of TV’s greats and usher in a new age for the

police procedural drama.

Bibliography

True Detective 01x01 “The Long Bright Dark”, 2014, Television Serial.

Directed by Cary Joji FUKUNAGA. HBO

True Detective 02x08 “Omega Station”, 2015, Television Serial. Directed by

John CROWLEY. HBO

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[2] Hawaii Five-O 02x14 “Pu’olo”, 2012, Television Serial. Directed by

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cinematic-flair.html

[4] Making a Murderer, 2015, TV mini-series Documentary. Directed by

Laura RICCIADRI. Netflix

[5] Style – Taylor Swift, 2015, Music Video. Directed by Kyle NEWMAN.

Big Machine

[6] HOLLAND, P., 1997. The Television Handbook. 2nd Ed. Routledge.

[7] True Detective 01x04 “Who goes there”, 2014, Television Serial. Directed

by Cary Joji FUKUNAGA. HBO.

[8] Chambers, R W., 1895. The King in Yellow. 1st Ed. F Tennyson Neely.

[9] True Detective 01x08 “Form and Void”, 2014, Television Serial. Directed

by Cary Joji FUKUNAGA. HBO.

[10] COOKE, L., 2003. British Television Drama: A History. 1st ed. BFI

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[11i]&[11ii] HUGHES, S. 2014. The Guardian Online. Available from:

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/feb/17/true-detective-nic-

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[12] CONAN DOYLE, A., 1888, 1st Ed. Ward Lock & co

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[14] Mulholland Drive, 2001, Film. Directed by David LYNCH. Les Films

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[15] NEALE, S., 2000. Genre and Hollywood. 1st Ed. Routledge.

[16] RYAN, S. 2015. Paste Magazine. Available from:

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/08/true-detective-review-omega-

station.html