That 'True Detective' Magic Went to 92%-Rated Miniseries – and It's Now on Prime

Summary

• True Detective was once a fan favorite, but lost its edge after its first season.
• Another series, released in 2018, has managed to capture the essence of what made TD's first season so great.
• Over the course of eight episodes, this series delivers a shocking and intriguing story from start to finish.

At one point, many declared True Detective to be one of the greatest crime shows of its time. Led by a rugged and complex detective duo played by Woody Harrison and Matthew McConaughey, the first season of True Detective took fans on a dark and gripping hunt for a serial killer 17 years after the first murder. The season also followed the personal and professional dramas of Louisiana State Police detectives, their cases, and the occult.

Season 1 was welcomed into the ranks of television's top mystery series, with an audience rating of 89% for its first run. Unfortunately for fans, this was as good as it would get. The once original and gritty True Detective seemed to go downhill, with the following season earning a dismal 26%, and the most recent, titled True Detective: Night Country (2024) scraped in at 46%.

A new series arrives to reignite True Detective's lost spark

There's only so much you can do when you're dragging out an original idea and relying, season after season, on fans being driven by nostalgia instead of interest in the new story. Somewhere along the way, True Detective lost its edge by sticking too closely to what was established in the first season. That leaves room for something new to grab fans' attention, and that's exactly what Sharp Objects has done.

Based on the book by the same author as Gone Girl and helmed by the same director as Big Little Lies, Sharp Objects' troubled female protagonist and twisted murder mystery had audiences hooked on every second.

It's not just the female-centric story that makes 2018's Sharp Objects feel like something shiny and new, though the performances of Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson were outstanding.

Adams leads the series as a crime journalist who is assigned to report on the murder of two young girls in her hometown, and returns to cover the story after a brief stint in a mental hospital. Her character is complicated and fascinating, as is her toxic relationship with her mother, whose dark past is slowly unearthed as she tries to uncover the truth behind the murders.

Sharp Objects has cut its own path

The heart of the series is like many others of its kind; a murder mystery, a complex and morally tainted protagonist, and a blurring between her personal and professional selves somewhere along the line, and while Sharp Objects delivers, there are so many elements that are daring and refreshingly different.

The story is about murder, but it is also about family dilemmas and mental health. It's set in a gorgeous Southern town that somehow lacks a bit of warmth and charm, with a main character who is a traumatized alcoholic and, quite frankly, an anti-hero.

Sharp Objects dared to be different and created a thrilling and compelling murder mystery that stepped outside of the box, and for that it received critical acclaim, earning a staggering 92% rating for its 8-episode run. Aside from the storyline, perhaps the most impressive part of the series is its absolutely jaw-dropping ending, which is as brutal as it is unexpected.

The HBO Max series is available to watch on Prime with a premium subscription.