Why Does True Detective Keep Losing?

By Reuben Levine | Jan 27, 2015

There’s not really any way to put it: this has been a terrible award season for True Detective. But it stretches back further than this particular season, it’s a trend that started back at the Emmy awards. And by now it is indeed a trend, make no mistake. It’s become something of a safe bet to assume that True Detective is going to lose almost whatever award it happens to be up for.

But how did this happen?

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There’s no easy answer to that question. True Detective was an early hit and captured viewers’ imaginations over its eight episode first season. But from the time of its season finale all the way up to now, something happened. There as a definite shift in the way people thought of True Detective.

You wouldn’t know that from looking at all the year-end lists that True Detective ended up on. Sure, it didn’t make all of them, but it was featured on its fair share of Best of 2014 television. It seemed like it was a sure bet this award season.

It’s possible that all of the controversy that followed True Detective during and after its first season has taken a toll. Awards voters are definitely shying away from voting for True Detective, especially Matthew McConaughey, whose performance was praised far and wide.

But now, after allegations of plagiarism, sexism, and a creator known for being private and shying away from social media, you end up with a series that has an unfavorable reputation. Award shows are supposed to recognize talent, but it’s no secret that many award shows are nothing more than glorified popularity contests.

And if you didn’t believe that before, it’s very easy to believe it now. Even the SAG awards, which have actors voting for each other, shied away from True Detective. More than any other award show this season, the SAG awards snub was an important statement. Kevin Spacey more than deserved recognition for his performance as Francis Underwood in the fantastic House of Cards, but it again doesn’t jive with the general feeling on True Detective before the awards.

It’s impossible to say for sure why True Detective seems destined to lose. But without invoking the spirit of some outrageous conspiracy theory, there does seem to be something going on in the background. The way that voters are thinking about True Detective, which was previously praised to high heaven, has shifted in a palpable way.

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