The essential episodes of True Detective
Watch these 15 in order and you've got True Detective — each pick states its reason.
- 01
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. As they look back, details of the crime, replete with occult overtones, are accompanied by insights into the detectives' volatile partnership and personal lives.
- 02
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 time to follow up on a lead that takes them from a rural cathouse to an incinerated church. With his marriage to Maggie already strained by work, Hart finds respite away from home.
- 03
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 in for interrogation, a sex offender matching the description is quickly dismissed by Cohle, despite offering a confession. Hart gets sidetracked after Maggie sets Cohle up with a friend at a C&W bar. Looking to establish a pattern of murder, Cohle pores over old case files, finding a connection with a woman assumed to have drowned years earlier.
- 04
Hart and Cohl follow a series of dangerous leads in an effort to locate prime suspect Reggie Ledoux.
- 05
Hart and Cohle share the spoils of a solved case; Papania and Gilbough confront the detectives with troubling new intelligence.
- 06
Maggie sheds light on Cohle's activities in 2002, when his relationship with Hart fractured and he quit the force.
- 07
Hart and Cohle forge a truce to probe a murky string of disappearances that tie to the symbology of the Dora Lange murder and the Tuttle family.
- 08
An overlooked detail provides Hart and Cohle with an important new lead in their 17-year-old case.
- 09
The detail works a pawn shop lead to close in on a suspect in the Caspere case. Frank revisits his past to pay for his present.
- 10
Desperate to locate a missing woman with intel on Caspere, Frank meets with Mexican drug dealers. Ani infiltrates an exclusive inner circle, with Ray and Paul keeping close tabs.
- 11
Ray, Ani and Paul take precautionary measures to elude detection and untangle a dark mystery. Frank deals with the fallout of his betrayal.
- 12
The Great War and Modern Memory
The disappearance of a young Arkansas boy and his sister in 1980 triggers vivid memories and enduring questions for retired detective Wayne Hays, who worked the case 35 years before with partner Roland West. What started as a routine case becomes a long journey to dissect and make sense of the crime.
- 13
Hays looks back at the aftermath of the 1980 Purcell case in West Finger, Ark., including possible evidence left behind at the Devil's Den, an outdoor hangout for local kids. As attention focuses on two conspicuous suspects – Brett Woodard, a solitary vet and trash collector, and Ted LaGrange, an ex-con with a penchant for children – the parents of the missing kids, Tom and Lucy Purcell, receive a cryptic note from an anonymous source.
- 14
Following up on new leads, Wayne and Roland track down a man who left the police force in the midst of the Purcell investigation. Meanwhile, Amelia visits Lucy Purcell's best friend in hopes of gaining insights into the whereabouts of the mysterious one-eyed man.
- 15
As Prior digs into the links between Tsalal and mining company Silver Sky, Navarro rescues Leah from a local protest that has turned violent. At a meeting with Silver Sky exec Kate McKitterick, Danvers balks when Connelly shares the official cause of the Tsalal men's deaths – and gets a warning against pursuing the case any further. Later, Hank receives a quid pro quo offer.
Shows like True Detective
The closest matches on shared genres, ranked by match strength and popularity.
- 01Drama·Crime·ThrillerThe essential episodes of The Blacklist2013–2023·NBC
The Blacklist is a crime drama involving a former government agent who turned into a high-profile criminal turning himself in to the FBI offering to help catch criminals. - 02Drama·Crime·ThrillerThe essential episodes of Criminal Minds2005–present·Paramount+
Criminal Minds revolves around an elite team of FBI profilers who analyze the country's most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again. - 03Drama·Crime·ThrillerThe essential episodes of Breaking Bad2008–2019·AMCBreaking Bad follows protagonist Walter White, a chemistry teacher who lives in New Mexico with his wife and teenage son who has cerebral palsy.
- 04Drama·Crime·ThrillerThe essential episodes of Euphoria2019–2026Same network — HBO·
- 05Drama·Crime·ThrillerThe essential episodes of The Killing2011–2014·AMC
The Killing follows Seattle homicide detectives Stephen Holder and Sarah Linden and their work as detectives investigating murders. - 06Drama·Crime·ThrillerThe essential episodes of The Following2013–2015·FOXThe FBI estimates there are currently over 300 active serial killers in the United States.
