True Detective (Nic Pizzolatto, 2014–)

full name / name of organization: 
Scott F. Stoddart
contact email: 

Since bursting onto American screens in June 2014, HBO series True Detective– a unique take on the American crime drama genre, dripping with literary and cinematic influence– immediately attracted positive acclaim, earning it many nominations in prime awards ceremonies, significantly the Emmys and the Golden Globes, as well as winning a BAFTA for Outstanding Television Series. Whilst being celebrated among audiences and critics, the series equally ignited several critical conversations that have continued to date, taking issues with its representations of gender, depictions of place, its performances, casts, and form. It is this ongoing and ever-developing critical debate around the series that makes it ripe for scholarly attention.

True Detective is the creation of teacher-turned-writer Nic Pizzolatto, who conceived the series originally as a novel before considering it for television. Developed as an anthology, the narratives of the individual seasons are contained to eight-episode arcs, each involving new investigations, different settings, and entirely new cast ensembles. The seventeen year-long pursuit of a serial killer in Louisiana by State Police homicide detectives Marty Hart (Woody Harrelson) and Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey), sets the scene for the first season of True Detective, which pays homage to the cop-based buddy genres in film and explores Southern gothic tropes, immediately capturing critical accolades globally. In contrast to the sweat-soaked canvas of the Southern States, a moody noir-influenced Los Angeles hosts the investigation of three police officers (Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, and Taylor Kitsch) and a criminal-turned-businessman (Vince Vaughn), following the discovery of the body of a corrupt city manager. By way of the noir tropes, evident in the novels of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and James Ellroy, and the film noir genre, season two weaves a complex tale of corruption on a personal and societal level.

In an effort to contribute to the conversations that are being had over the series, we seek scholarly essays that explore a variety of aspects of True Detective for a collection that will celebrate the complexities and intense debates surrounding this unique series. Topics might include:

  • Literary influences (its creator was, after all a high school literature teacher)
  • Filmic influences, particularly film noir – from Huston's The Maltese Falcon to Polanski's Chinatown
  • Uses of television history, including homages to Playhouse 90, The Twilight Zone, Twin Peaks and The Sopranos;
  • Influences of the buddy / cop films genre;
  • Casting against type – for a few of these actors, it is their first time working for television;
  • Audience reception / cult following – both critical roundtables to social media buzzes;
  • Its musical score and soundtrack;
  • The series' aesthetics: how its cinematography and editing use mood to relate filmic narrative;
  • Faith and religion;
  • Philosophy;
  • Gender depictions;
  • The contrasts between season one and two: the similarities and differences in relating crime stories, from the Bible Belt Gothic of Louisiana to the Noir-drenched L.A.

    If interested, please send an abstract of two-to-three pages by 30 August to both:

    Scott F. Stoddart
    John Jay College of Criminal Justice
    New York, NY.
    sstoddart@jjay.cuny.edu

    Michael Samuel
    University of Leeds
    Leeds, UK.
    mlmsa@leeds.ac.uk

    Finished essays should be 25 pages in length, following MLA format, and they will be due by 31 December 2015.