HBOIf you’re wondering what the best season of one of the most critically acclaimed crime shows of all time is, here are all the True Detective seasons ranked by Rotten Tomatoes score.
True Detective Season 4 had big shoes to fill. It was the first that didn’t have writer Nic Pizzolatto pulling the strings. Instead, Mexican filmmaker Issa López took the creative reigns.
Critical reception was strong, and thanks to top-tier episodes and a stacked True Detective Night Country cast, it’s a worthy rival to the previous seasons of the TV show.
So here’s where the latest sits among the True Detective seasons on Rotten Tomatoes.
True Detective seasons ranked by Rotten Tomatoes score
The best True Detective seasons ranked by Rotten Tomatoes score:
- True Detective Season 4: 93%
- True Detective Season 1: 92%
- True Detective Season 3: 84%
- True Detective Season 2: 47%
Season 4 was initially on 94%, then it dropped down to 92%, putting it neck-and-neck with the wildly acclaimed Season 1. And now it has settled on 93%, making it King of the True Detectives.
Which is good news for fans of this most recent iteration, as Issa López is returning for Season 5, which is currently in the early stages of development.
What the critics said about True Detective Night Country?
Dexerto gave the show five stars in our True Detective Night Country review, saying, “A story so dark shouldn’t be this much fun, but Night Country is a cracking whodunnit that will keep you guessing until the final few reels. It’s also the best True Detective since Season 1.”
The Hollywood Reporter wrote, “Night Country pushes aside Pizzolatto’s trademark masculine brooding for a female-forward story that personalizes and internalizes the anthology’s typically convoluted plotting in a way that’s refreshing and frequently potent.”
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While The Evening Standard said, “This is excellent TV that conjures an atmosphere thicker than the polar ice cap, and bleaker than a polar night. Just make sure to wrap up warm.”
While we wait for new episodes, head here for TV shows like True Detective, or click here for the best TV shows of 2025 so far.