Skip to main content
  • TotalFilm
  • Edge
  • Newsarama
  • Retrogamer
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
Don't miss these
Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
Crime Movies Cillian Murphy says Netflix's Peaky Blinders movie is the "natural conclusion" for Tommy Shelby
Christian Bale in The Dark Knight
Crime Movies Christian Bale promises Heat 2 will be "something great", and he came close to working with Leonardo DiCaprio before
David Lynch as Gordon Cole and Laura Dern as Diane in Twin Peaks: The Return.
Streaming Services The 25 best shows on Paramount Plus to watch right now
Keanu Reeves in The Matrix Resurrections
Action Movies Matrix 5 gets a brand new update from writer and director Drew Goddard
Emma D'Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon season 3
TV The 30 best shows on HBO Max to watch right now
Hawkeye
Marvel TV Shows Wonder Man showrunner reveals Hawkeye went through massive changes weeks before filming
Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Star Wars Movies Steven Soderbergh says he is "very disappointed" by the decision to cancel The Hunt for Ben Solo
3 Body Problem
Sci-Fi Shows Game of Thrones creators' spenny Netflix sci-fi show is reportedly getting a reduced episode count for seasons 2 and 3
Daredevil: Born Again
Marvel TV Shows Daredevil: Born Again showrunner has "mixed feelings" about season 2's timely political focus
It: Chapter Two
Horror Movies It: Chapter Two star reteaming with his Barry collaborator for new original horror about a divorced dad
Five Nights at Freddy's 2
Horror Movies After the first two movies were written by Scott Cawthon, Five Nights at Freddy's 3 reportedly has new screenwriters
Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully and David Duchovny as Fox Mulder in The X-Files.
Horror Shows After 218 episodes I thought I was done with The X-Files – but Ryan Coogler's revival has dragged me back in
Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland in The Night Agent season 3
Thriller Shows The Night Agent season 3: everything you need to know about the hit Netflix show's latest season
An unmasked Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) sitting across from Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) in Daredevil: Born Again season 2
Marvel TV Shows Daredevil: Born Again will "let rip" in season 2 in a way they "might not have been able to" in the first season
Dune
Sci-Fi Movies Timothée Chalamet says Dune Part 3 is "the eeriest" entry in Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi saga so far: "It’s a big swing"
  1. Entertainment
  2. TV
  3. Crime Shows

True Detective director Cary Fukunaga talks candidly about problematic production period

News
By Molly Edwards published 23 September 2021

Cary Fukunaga has spoken about troubles working on True Detective

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

True Detective
(Image credit: HBO)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

True Detective's Cary Fukunaga has spoken about difficulties working on the acclaimed HBO series, of which he directed all eight episodes of the first season.

"The show was presented to me in the way we pitched it around town – as an independent film made into television," the director told The Hollywood Reporter. 

"The writer and director are a team. Over the course of the project, Nic [Pizzolatto, writer/creator] kept positioning himself as if he was my boss and I was like, 'But you're not my boss. We're partners. We collaborate.' By the time they got to postproduction, people like [former programming president] Michael Lombardo were giving Nic more power. It was disheartening because it didn't feel like the partnership was fair."

You may like
  • Emma D'Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon season 3 George R.R. Martin says his relationship with House of the Dragon showrunner is "abysmal"
  • An unmasked Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) sitting across from Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) in Daredevil: Born Again season 2 Daredevil: Born Again will "let rip" in season 2 in a way they "might not have been able to" in the first season
  • Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven in Stranger Things season 5 Stranger Things finale was "the most difficult writing circumstance" the Duffer Brothers have ever found themselves in

Fukunaga directed the critically acclaimed season 1, but did not return to helm season 2 or 3. He was an executive producer on both further installments, however.

"Nic is a really good writer, but I do think he needs to be edited down," Fukunaga continued. "It becomes too much about the writing and not enough about the momentum of the story. My struggle with him was to take some of these long dialogue scenes and put some air into them. We differed on tone and taste." 

Season 1 of the series starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, while season 2 focused on Collin Farrell and Rachel McAdams, and season 3 saw Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff in the leading roles.

Fukunaga's next work to be released is the long-awaited No Time to Die, which will be Daniel Craig's last outing as James Bond. It's arriving in the UK this September 30, and in the US on October 8.

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Until then, check out our guide to all of 2021's upcoming movie release dates.

Molly Edwards
Molly Edwards
Social Links Navigation
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film section. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.

Read more
Emma D'Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon season 3
George R.R. Martin says his relationship with House of the Dragon showrunner is "abysmal"
 
 
An unmasked Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) sitting across from Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) in Daredevil: Born Again season 2
Daredevil: Born Again will "let rip" in season 2 in a way they "might not have been able to" in the first season
 
 
Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven in Stranger Things season 5
Stranger Things finale was "the most difficult writing circumstance" the Duffer Brothers have ever found themselves in
 
 
Fallout season 2
Fallout studio says Todd Howard didn't want "the guy who makes video game movies" to make the Prime Video TV show
 
 
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End director reveals why he stepped back from directing the hit fantasy anime
 
 
It: Welcome to Derry
It: Welcome to Derry showrunner breaks down episode 8 of the highly rated Stephen King spin-off
 
 
Latest in Crime Shows
Sugar season 2
Sugar season 2 announces release date with The Flash star joining Colin Farrell in the cast
 
 
The Hunt TV show
New Apple TV crime series due to release next week shelved indefinitely over plagiarism allegations
 
 
Pluribus
Pluribus writer says he has no plans to reveal what the sci-fi mystery is a "metaphor" for anytime soon: "The show becomes meaningless"
 
 
Walter White (Bryan Cranston) in Breaking Bad
Pluribus creator Vince Gilligan says testing an episode of his X-Files spin-off made him swear he would "never freaking do that again," and he still doesn't know how Breaking Bad tested
 
 
Poker Face season 2
Poker Face canceled ahead of season 3, but creator Rian Johnson wants to keep it going with Peter Dinklage taking over as lead character Charlie Cale from Natasha Lyonne
 
 
Anthony Perkins in Psycho
Netflix's Monster: The Ed Gein Story called "devoid of context" by horror director and son of Psycho star Anthony Perkins: "I wouldn’t watch it with a 10-foot pole"
 
 
Latest in News
Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Requiem is too scary for series veteran Hideki Kamiya, who argues Capcom "should make a 'non-scary' mode"
 
 
Yoshi and the Mysterious Boook screenshot of Yoshi smiling with eyes closed
The next big Switch 2 exclusive, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, gets a May release date out of nowhere
 
 
Runescape
MMO raises subscription prices less than 2 months after ditching microtransactions, causing a RuneScape fan revolt
 
 
One Piece
One Piece season 2 is a live-action adaptation to treasure as it debuts to perfect Rotten Tomatoes score
 
 
Fallout 1 power armor helmet
D&D's most annoying rule helped Fallout co-creator get big break at legendary RPG studio
 
 
A screenshot of Yoko Taro in the "Message from NieR: Automata director Yoko Taro" Square Enix video announcing Nier: Automata's Steam release.
Nier: Automata creator Yoko Taro sees it "as a form of respect" when devs "say outright that they copied" his action RPG
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. One Piece
    1
    One Piece season 2 is a live-action adaptation to treasure as it debuts to perfect Rotten Tomatoes score
  2. 2
    Overwatch lead says using Steam player counts to dunk on multi-platform releases like Marathon is "big unemployed, maidenless behavior"
  3. 3
    Nier: Automata creator Yoko Taro sees it "as a form of respect" when devs "say outright that they copied" his action RPG, but he's not sure "how Square Enix would feel about that"
  4. 4
    D&D's most annoying rule helped Fallout co-creator Tim Cain get his big break at legendary RPG studio Interplay after he flexed on the job interview
  5. 5
    Resident Evil Requiem director acknowledges the Leon thirst and marriage debate all in one as he jokingly lets slip a mock-up of the hot unc starring in The Bachelor: "Whoops..."

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...