The global HBO viewership needs to take a step back, relax, and trust that they are being taken to a good place. The makers of these shows know what they are doing and they will get you where you want to go.
We are entering a new era of Television with many series now offering a level of production quality which rivals that of big budget hollywood films. The promise for TV is now so great that we are seeing huge name actors return to the format from movie land, and by choice rather than force. The benefit of the mini-series lies in more screen time to communicate the finer points of the story, this in turn allows the director more time to work with the plot curve. But what is this heightened level of quality doing to the viewer? Are we now so spoilt for choice that our expectations have been allowed to roam completely free without restriction?
Last night was the premier of True Detective season 2 – a whole new story and a whole new cast – and after the universal blessing that season 1 received last year it would appear that the viewing public would not settle for much less than a perfect product. The reviews have been mixed and social media hasn’t lacked a voice in criticising the opening episode. Noted complaints include: too slow, too many story lines, too confusing, and oh yeah – did I say too slow?
So lets back up and take a look at the situation. Among the actors for this season are Vince Vaughn, Collin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, and Taylor Kitsch, not to mention a host of quality bit parts played by all sorts of recognisable faces. This is not a cast of Hollywood has-beens retreating to television as a last resort to scrape together the rent money, this cast is at the top of their game. McAdams has done some of her best work in the last few years – of note is her inclusion in the Oscar winning film “Midnight In Paris” and her violently intense portrayal of Sara in “A Most Wanted Man”, she also has four major films coming out in 2015 (and two in 2016). The resurgence of Vaughn appears to be ongoing as he reclaims his place as one of the heavy hitters of comedic film (not a generic advantage when portraying serious drama I admit but he certainly isn’t wanting for work). Kitsch is no stranger to the silver screen and is well inducted into the ‘leading man club’. And Farrell, though not as prevalent as he once was, is still drawing crowds at the cinemas and has arguably taken on the most difficult role in season 2 of True Detective by playing Detective Raymond ‘Ray’ Velcro – sadistically dirty cop with serious personal baggage.
The ‘acting-traffic’ between TV and film used to be oneway, that is to say that once you cracked into films you didn’t return to television unless you were demoted by the industry or you were broke. This trend appears to be shifting and hints at exciting times ahead for TV. If we can now watch some of the most in demand actors in the world portray stories with the production quality of top shelve movies then that oneway street may just become a four lane highway… running both ways.
So with evidence that we are, as the viewing public, knocking on the door of a whole new standard in screen content – why are we, as the viewing public, so ready to express distain at some of the flagships of TV (which I predict True Detective season 2 to be)?
The answer, I hope, is that this is simply a temporary issue created by the gap left between the sudden surging ahead of our expectations (which in turn has been inspired by series such as Game Of Thrones) and our slow-to-react adjustment to the change in narrative format. You see each of these shows have done something completely new and, until championed by them, alien to the format of the TV series. Breaking Bad was successful in making Walter White do a complete 180 degree character turn, G.O.T. seems to relish in killing off their most beloved main characters (previously consider to be television series suicide), and True Detective season 2 has taken the bold move of introducing a quadruple lead i.e. McAdams, Vaughan, Kitsch, and Farrell.
It is too soon to tell if this season will bare the fruits of season 1’s delicious mystery but if the first episode is anything to go on then we should be in for a ride. The audience must understand that in an eight episode series the pilot will always be dedicated to plot setup and backstory. Just because this story is of a cinema quality does not mean that the minute to minute timeframe will follow the same format.
These new HBO dramatic screen explosions should be seen more as an 8-10 hour episodic movie rather than a television show. Once the viewing public wraps their collective heads around that concept then the fruits of True Detective season 2 will ripen and the unholy quadrinity of the lead structure will suck us all in to the multi-woven plot.
