NBC’s Aquarius May Give True Detective a Run for its Money

By Reuben Levine | May 27, 2015

The summer television season is here, and with it comes a slew of new shows and returning favorites. True Detective chief among them, of course. Summer is a time when the networks will typically air shows that may not have done so well during a normal season, which is why Hannibal was moved to June. True Detective, being on HBO, doesn’t have to worry about such things.

More from HBO

The summer will be one of the darkest in recent memory, and heat is surpassingly coming from NBC. Not will we have more Hannibal this summer, but also the premiere of Aquarius, the True Detective-esque show that we told you about what feels like forever ago.

It’s here, and the early buzz from Deadline is that it’s worthy. Coupled with Hannibal, Aquarius is definitely taking a stab at True Detective’s audience. Not that we really have any problem with that; the more good TV there is, the better.

Aquarius has the star power of David Duchovny behind it, who plays a LAPD detective in the Manson-era 1960’s. Of course, when it comes to star power it’s almost impossible to beat True Detective right now. With Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams, Taylor Kitsch, and Colin Farrell, True Detective has possibly the most star power on TV.

It’s almost ridiculous.

We’ll we checking out Acquarius to see if it hits all the right buttons, or if it turns out just to be True Detective-lite. True Detective didn’t invent the dark detective drama, but it’s the best shot of adrenaline the genre has had in a very long time.

In case you’re just as curious as we are, Aquarius premieres tomorrow on NBC at 9:00 EST.

Next: Will True Detective season two really not be as dark as the first?

More from Show Snob