Full podcast episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qgIFD0PaWo
Lex Fridman podcast channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexfridman
Guest bio: Matthew McConaughey is an Oscar-winning actor and author of Greenlights.

I still maintain that true detective season 1 is the pinnacle of TV. I absolutely adored everything about it. The actors, the story, the writing, the music, the setting of Louisiana. Superb 10/10 television

True Detective S1 is a masterpiece. It’s like a parable. A retelling of the greatest story ever told, which is mankind’s search for meaning and the desire to overcome suffering.

Much more interesting to see actors having genuine conversations than going on late night shows

I don't think Matthew gets enough credit as an actor. He has proven himself as phenomenal actor. Between this show and Interstellar, he really solidified himself as one of the best to do it.

Mathew is one of the great actors of his generation.

Lex: what is the meaning of life?  Rustin Cohle: start askin right fukin question

Not only the best TV show ever written but the best thing I have ever watched period. Zero fat and every pixel and word spoken so potent. True Masterpiece. Can never happen again

I genuinely can't imagine a tv show being made better than s1 True Detective. Masterpiece. No weaknesses. Script, atmosphere, characters...flawless

Matthew McConaughey could have, without anyone ever questioning him, easily spent the rest of his acting career doing silly rom-coms and accepting roles that were geared toward his looks. Kudos to him for breaking away from that and showing the world that he was more than just his physical appearance. A true thespian.

True Detective was a really good series.  My wife and I just watched it the a few weeks ago for the first time. I'm career law enforcement, and I always knew at least one investigator who was like Rustin Cole.  A heat seeking missile, who was going to solve that crime no matter what,  and with red hot with flames coming out the back while he was doing it, and with pretty much no life outside of that pursuit.  And, then once they had hit the target, they would kind of burn out a few days.  And, then immediately fire themselves off at another case to solve.  By the time they retired, they all looked ten years older than they really were.

I have never heard an actor who fully comprehends the terrifying profundity of the character they’re playing, as much as Mathew McConnaughy understands Rust Cohle. He knows exactly, exactly why this character has garnered so much praise and attention.

It’s the guy who won’t look away, no matter how bad it gets. The guy who is committed to the truth at any cost. The person we wish we could be, but ultimately know we can’t..

Probably best character in a show, ever

10/10

I wasn't a fan of McConaughey until True Detective. Brilliant series.

True Detective S1 should have been a stand alone miniseries

Matthew McConaughey is a national treasure. Great man.

I’m glad to see other people appreciated Mathew’s performance as Rust Cohle as much I did. He went deep on on one the deepest characters ever written.

This show came out while I was going through a level of sadness I'll never come close to again. It was a match made in heaven. Masterful writing and performances.

True Detective was the most uniquely incredible t.v. viewing I have ever seen in my 57 years of life. I mean the consistency of it....the slow heat of the pressure cooker always burning through the story. No wasted dialogue or fodder. The writing was so nuanced... so precise...so brilliant. You couldn't but latch on to ever single word. The acting , everyone in it was spot on.I could truly go on forever about it. But the best thing I can say about the show is that everytime asked someone, " Have you seen True Detective? No?  You've got to see it. It's unlike ANYTHING you've seen on tv". And when they were done, they'd all have this look (😳) on their faces. And I'd think... Yep. That's exactly how I felt.😉👍🏼

I love the comments of how it was so well done and it was so well liked by the viewers. What I can add from my experience as a homicide detective in chicago for 30 years, the attitudes, the opinions of the detectives, the descriptions Woody gives of detectives, and the investigative process was absolutely right on the money.

I have watched the season several times and I always thought there is someone with inside information as a consultant, it was that spot on.