True Detective is not a television series.
Rustin Spencer `` Rust '' Cohle is a fictional character in the first season of the anthology crime drama television series True Detective on HBO . True Detective . The second season , starring Colin Farrell , Rachel McAdams , Taylor Kitsch , Kelly Reilly , and Vince Vaughn , is set in California , and focuses on three detectives from three cooperating police departments and a criminal-turned-businessman as they investigate a series of crimes they believe are linked to the murder of a corrupt politician .