The third season of “True Detective” isn’t even finished yet, but many fans are equating it to the Emmy Award-winning first season. And for HBO, that has to be seen as a win. To make the connection even more obvious, last night’s episode of the series decided to drop a little Easter Egg for long-time fans of the series. We present to you the “True Detective” Cinematic Universe.
As revealed in a screencap from a Twitter user, the latest episode of “True Detective” shows a laptop screen with a very interesting article pulled up. With the headline “Former State Police Officers Stop Alleged Serial Killer,” it’s clear that the first season of the show is referenced. This is confirmed by the fact that under the headline are pictures of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as Detective Rust Cohle and Detective Marty Hart, respectively.
Does this mean we should look for some surprise cameos or storylines intersecting? Probably not. Instead, this shows that the odd cop stories that creator Nic Pizzolatto is concocting are existing in the same screwed up universe. Perhaps a couple more quality seasons of the series will lead to an “Avengers” style massive team-up? Who wouldn’t want old, grizzled, angry detectives on the hunt for a killer?
Kidding aside, these sorts of Easter Eggs are fun for fans of the series. It allows these seemingly unconnected anthology stories to have a bit of shared mythology. Horror writer Stephen King has done this sort of thing for decades, weaving little crossovers and shared universe teases throughout his novels. So, while you watch Season 3 of “True Detective,” fans can imagine what Rust and Marty are doing while Mahershala Ali’s Wayne Hays is knee deep in his own adventure.
#TrueDetective has me hooked. pic.twitter.com/5fVTTB45x3
— Shane (@shanerp14) January 28, 2019