The first season of True Detective is one of the greatest TV masterpieces of the 21st century. It combined cinematic visuals with novelistic storytelling to create something bigger and more profound than we imagined television could be. It made sense from a business perspective for HBO to turn True Detective into an anthology series and keep the benjamins rolling in, but from a creative standpoint, it was a nightmare. Nic Pizzolatto had been plotting out season 1 for years, initially as a novel, to make it as complex and thought-provoking and substantial as it was.
But season 1 was such a big hit that HBO wanted him to turn around and do it all again in just a few months. Season 2 ended up feeling rushed and underdeveloped, then season 3 was a return to form (though not quite the groundbreaking gem that season 1 was), and season 4 — dubbed Night Country — turned the show into something else entirely. Under the vision of a new showrunner, Issa López, Night Country reimagined True Detective as a Lynchian supernatural thriller. It was great, with a typically fantastic lead performance by Jodie Foster, but it didn’t really feel like True Detective.
A different HBO miniseries, Mare of Easttown, feels more like True Detective. Like a season of True Detective, Mare of Easttown is a detective drama where the detective’s complicated personal life bleeds into their grisly murder investigation, and it’s pretty incredible.
Mare Of Easttown Is A Better True Detective Season Than Some Of The Official Ones
If you watch Mare of Easttown as an unofficial season of True Detective, then it’s honestly more satisfying than some of True Detective’s actual seasons — primarily the rush job that is season 2 — with a more satisfying twist ending. Kate Winslet stars as hometown hero-turned-jaded veteran cop Marianne “Mare” Sheehan, who’s tasked with solving the murder of a local teen mom. As she digs deeper into the investigation, suspects pop up left and right, the baby’s paternity is brought into question, and some of the clues point to Mare’s own family.
Solving a teenager’s murder would be difficult enough, but Mare is also grieving the suicide of her son, fighting a custody battle for her grandson, and holding onto her own sanity by a thread. Much like Marty Hart and Rust Cohle, Mare can’t help bringing her own personal emotional baggage into her detective work, and it makes for gripping drama.
Kate Winslet Leads An Absurdly Star-Studded Cast As The Titular Mare
Winslet gives one of the best performances of her career in Mare of Easttown. She takes this familiar archetype of the grizzled cop and gives a rich, nuanced, layered, three-dimensional portrayal of the human being behind the archetype (sincerely, The Breakfast Club). Rather than overacting, Winslet underacts, and allows the emotions to simmer under the surface. When Mare watches footage of her late son, Winslet barely moves her face, but you can see a vast expanse of pain and love and anguish behind her eyes.
But Winslet is just the tip of the iceberg. Mare of Easttown has a sprawling ensemble cast full of brilliant, recognizable actors. Jean Smart plays Mare’s mother, Julianne Nicholson plays her best friend, Guy Pearce plays her love interest, The Nice Guys’ Angourie Rice plays her daughter, and David Denman (a.k.a. Roy from The Office) plays her ex-husband. Evan Peters plays Mare’s new partner from the county police; Smile star Sosie Bacon plays the mother of Mare’s grandson (the one fighting her for custody); and Bottoms’ Ruby Cruz plays the victim’s best friend, who’s holding onto some secrets. The cast is an embarrassment of riches.
It could be a while before HBO finally gives us True Detective season 5. But in the meantime, Mare of Easttown is a perfect substitute.
Mare of Easttown
8/10
- Release Date
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2021 – 2021-00-00
- Network
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HBO
- Showrunner
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Brad Ingelsby
- Directors
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Craig Zobel
