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True Detective S01E03, The Locked RoomS01E03

True Detective · Season 1

True Detective season 1 episode 3: The Locked Room

Aired 26 January 201456 minRated TV-MA

8.7TMDB · 211 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.

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Availability checked 16 November 2026.

What happens in “The Locked Room”

A hidden image at the burned-out church leads Cohle and Hart to Joel Theriot, a tent-revival minister whose parishioners finger a scarred “tall man” seen with Dora Lange. Brought in for interrogation, a sex offender matching the description is quickly dismissed by Cohle, despite offering a confession. Hart gets sidetracked after Maggie sets Cohle up with a friend at a C&W bar. Looking to establish a pattern of murder, Cohle pores over old case files, finding a connection with a woman assumed to have drowned years earlier.

Episode summary: TMDB.

Before you watch

  • It is episode 3 of 8 of season 1, so watch episodes 1 to 2 first.
  • It runs about 56 minutes.
  • Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, written by Nic Pizzolatto.
  • TMDB users rate it 8.7 out of 10 (211 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 HartJ.D. Evermore as Detective LutzGlenn Fleshler as Errol ChildressJoe Chrest as Detective DemmaDane Rhodes as Detective FavreMeghan Wolfe as Maisie Hart

Credits: TMDB.

More from True Detective Season 1

Previous · S01E02Seeing Things19 January 2014Next · S01E04Who Goes There?9 February 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.