Why Woody Harrelson Refuses To Star In Another Season Of True Detective

Nic Pizzolatto's "True Detective" debuted on HBO on January 12, 2014, and to this day is arguably the best season of television ever created. Though the following two seasons couldn't live up to the stellar quality of the original, that first season is about as good as TV gets, and nothing — even the excellent "True Detective: Night Country," which was the best season since the first — could ever measure up. As such, fans of that inaugural season have remained understandably curious as to whether we'll ever see stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson reunite for another installment in the adventures of detectives Rustin Cohle and Marty Hart. Alas, while the former seems game, the latter has shut down any possibility of a revisit. Why? Because he likes the first season too much.

We already know that Matthew McConnaughey has one condition to play Rust Cohle again, with the actor telling Variety, "We nailed that first season. But if it's a script like that first one, with that fire and originality, I'd do it." Harrelson, meanwhile, evidently agrees that he and his co-star nailed the first season, which is exactly why he doesn't want to touch "True Detective" again.

The actor was being interviewed on the 3rd Hour of Today (via People) when he was asked whether he'd consider returning for a future installment of "True Detective." Unfortunately, despite his co-star remaining open to the possibility, Harrelson is inclined to leave things as they stand. Host Dylan Dreyer told Harrelson that Connaughey had said, "If Woody and I think it's good enough. It wouldn't even be a choice," to which Harrelson replied. "Matthew's so funny, but in fairness, never. Not a chance."

Expanding on his reluctance to return to "True Detective," Woody Harrelson told Dylan Dreyer it had nothing to do with any bad feelings towards the show or his experience, but because "it turned out great." He continued, "I love that it turned out the way it did. If anything, doing another season would, I think, tarnish that."

He might be right. Nic Pizzolatto produced two solid seasons following the first one (yes, season 2 is good despite what most people and /Film's own ranking of "True Detective" seasons would have you believe). But there's no doubt the creator never quite recaptured the magic of that first outing — though much of that surely had to do with the fact Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey were absent from subsequent seasons. The pair put on an absolute masterclass with their episodes of the HBO show, and while McConaughey (rightly) gets a lot of the credit for what was a truly remarkable acting showcase, Harrelson was brilliant too. The actor played his conflicted detective, caught between good old small town American values and his promiscuous proclivities, in just as convincing a way as McConaughey portrayed his brooding, nihilistic loner. Together, they were unbelievably good.

As such, finally matching the quality of "True Detective" season 1 is unlikely to come from a show that only featured the return of McConaughey — though fans would no doubt be overjoyed at the prospect. For now, it looks as though they'll soon get a close approximation, as McConaughey has re-teamed with Pizzolatto for an upcoming movie adaptation of the "Mike Hammer" book series. Harrelson, however, isn't involved at the moment.