True Detective Season 3 Premiere Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs From Episodes 1 & 2

6. The Strong Supporting Cast (Especially Scoot McNairy)

The series has often focused heavily on the lead detectives, sometimes are the expense of the broader cast. That's less the case here, though, as all of the supporting cast - which really, could be considered anyone not called Mahershala Ali - are already starting to be nicely fleshed out and all contribute to the world and mystery building.

Stephen Dorff - who it's great to see given a good role here - gives a solid turn as Roland West, the partner of Ali's Wayne Hays. Their performances dovetail and complement each other well, with Dorff the more easy-going, verbose partner to Ali's more closed-off Hays. Carmen Ejogo, too, is excellent in a way the show's female characters often haven't been: more than just a romantic interest, but allowed to be empathetic, feminine, and three-dimensional. There's not quite enough of Ray Fisher as Hays' son, Henry, to get a good gauge, but the father-son dynamic with Ali does at least feel authentic.

Even better, though, are some of the townsfolk at the heart of the mystery. Michael Greyeyes only appears briefly, but gives a memorable performance that adds to its exploration of war vets (his character, alongside Hays and West, all served in Vietnam, and all have been changed by it), and Mamie Gummer does some delightful scenery chewing as Lucy Purcell, the furious and frantic mother of the two missing children.

Topping it all, though, is Scoot McNairy as Tom, the father of the two kids. McNairy has long been giving brilliant supporting performances that don't quite get enough recognition, and he's responsible for bringing so much emotion and grief to the 1980s portion of the episodes, helping to elevate it beyond a more standard mystery.