15 Greatest HBO Characters Of All Time

In retrospect, in the light of that disastrous follow up, was season one of True Detective really all that good? Well, yes, it was, for several reasons. Chief among them, though, was surely resurgent champ of acting Matthew McConaughey, whose intense performance as tortured, ever so tortured cop Rust Cohle made us all take the show a whole lot more seriously than we would have otherwise.

Gaunt and bug eyed but forever recognisable as Hollywood's shirtless titan, Rust Cohle made vague philosophical mutterings and big leather clipboards look cool. Tempered by a less flashy but equally nuanced turn from Woody Harrelson, McConaughey's committed turn elevates True Detective from engrossing pulpy horror to must-watch drama.

And season two's futile attempts to double down on the Hollywood star power only proved how singular the character of Rust Cohle really was. Without this delightfully weird creation's ramblings, True Detective looks an awful lot like, well – another dreary, convoluted cop show.