5 Ways True Detective Has Changed Television For The Better

Yes, I'm a fan. True Detective is a show I couldn't turn away from, so after catching the first episode at a friend's house, I "borrowed" another friend's HBO Go account to binge watch the rest of it on a lazy Sunday. At 3:30 in the morning, I headed to bed after finishing the season, but there wasn't the normal "hangover" I'd experienced after watching a season of a show. Normally, I'd be curious as to what was going to happen on the next season especially if the current season had ended in a cliff hanger, but TD felt oddly complete. The acting, directing, and writing of the show was fantastic, but the true genius of the show was found in its format. True Detective has forever changed television for the better. It's not just a good show €“ it€™s the perfect blend of television and film, featuring A-list stars playing complex characters in an engaging storyline. It goes well beyond the 2 hour format of a traditional film, but sticks to a €œseasonal€ structure albeit a shorter season compared to other dramas such as Breaking Bad. What results is a win-win for the audience and the storytellers €“ the director and writer get to share their full vision and the audience enjoys the ride without the fear of getting shortchanged. This is the future of television, and here's 5 reasons why:

5. Less Is More

The present is all about online streaming. There have been talks of directly streaming new releases to your flat screen at home, and even though it would be a disaster for theatres, it may be the future. Television shows have already benefited immensely from streaming as binge watching has proven quite successful for Netflix's House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black. HBO Go is no exception and offers all of their shows and movies online as well. The difference between TD and other dramas is that TD has accomplished something special in only eight episodes. As a point of comparison, network dramas like The Good Wife have 23 episodes every season while cable shows such as Breaking Bad have 13. Minus the commercials, network shows run about 40 minutes while cable shows run closer to 50 minutes. This means every season of The Good Wife takes 15 hours and 20 minutes of your time and Breaking Bad takes about 11 hours. TD, minus titles and credits, takes about 7 and a half hours. All shows are written into digestible chunks, but TD succeeds in that it is a digestible whole. Less is more here €“ with the pace of a film and the structure of a television series, it doesn't drag on and it doesn't slow down. It's longer without feeling longer; it's short, but not too short. Dare I say it's just right. It keeps going until the story is complete and this brings us to our next point...