Skip to content
Compare TV
True Detective S01E01, The Long Bright DarkS01E01

True Detective · Season 1

True Detective season 1 episode 1: The Long Bright Dark

Aired 12 January 201457 minRated TV-MA

8.5TMDB · 242 votesMark watched

Where to watch True Detective Season 1 in Australia

True Detective season 1 is streaming in Australia on Foxtel Now (subscription) and HBO Max (subscription). You can also buy it on Apple TV from $19.99, Fetch TV from $21.99 and Prime Video Store from $21.99.

We may earn a commission when you sign up through our links. How we make money.

Stream (subscription)

Buy or rent

Availability checked 16 November 2026.

What happens in “The Long Bright Dark”

Former Louisiana State CID partners Martin Hart and Rustin Cohle give separate statements to a pair of investigators about the murder of a prostitute, Dora Lange, 17 years earlier. As they look back, details of the crime, replete with occult overtones, are accompanied by insights into the detectives’ volatile partnership and personal lives.

Episode summary: TMDB.

Before you watch

  • It is the season premiere of season 1.
  • It runs about 57 minutes.
  • Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, written by Nic Pizzolatto.
  • TMDB users rate it 8.5 out of 10 (242 votes).

True Detective trailer

The official trailer for the series (no preview of this episode has been published).

True Detective trailerPlay video: True Detective trailer

Cast and crew of this episode

Director
Cary Joji Fukunaga
Writer
Nic Pizzolatto
Guest stars
Kevin Dunn as Major Ken QuesadaDana Gourrier as CathleenMadison Wolfe as Audrey HartJay O. Sanders as Billy Lee TuttleJ.D. Evermore as Detective LutzMichael Harney as Steve GeraciClarke Peters as MinisterChristopher Berry as Danny Fontenot

Credits: TMDB.

More from True Detective Season 1

Next · S01E02Seeing Things19 January 2014
  1. E01
  2. E02
  3. E03
  4. E04
  5. E05
  6. E06
  7. E07
  8. E08

Every episode of Season 1True Detective episode guide

Episode names, air dates, runtimes, stills and ratings: TMDB. Air dates are the first broadcast anywhere; where it streams is our daily Australian check.