True Detective

True Detective is an HBO original drama series that first premiered in January of 2014. This show, created and written by author Nic Pizzolatto, is designed as an anthology, or a series that changes plot and cast in between every season. The first season consists of eight episodes, costarring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey as partner homicide detectives.

McConaughey plays "Rust" Cohle, a very intelligent detective that, due to his own ethics, is compelled to ravenously pursue a serial killer even though it brings great danger to his own well being. Rust suffers from depression, insomnia and alcoholism, all of which stem from the untimely death of his young daughter followed by the divorce of his wife. While Rust may be a flawed character who does not believe in or follow the norms of society, he still acts as the moral epicenter of the show.

Harrelson plays a decorated and veteran detective named Marty Hart. Marty has a troubled relationship with himself, his partner, and his family that eventually leads up to many of the troubles within his character. Marty's demons eventually get ahold of him before he turns to alcohol and divorces his wife. While Marty and Rust are partners they do not necessarily get along, this leads them to disagree on much of the morality of humanity and the human existence.

The plot of True Detective jumps between the years 1995, 2002, and 2012 while Marty Hart and Rust Cohle are delivering the tale of a previous homicide investigation that they both worked on. All previous information on the case was tragically lost in hurricane Rita, so the two characters were asked by investigators to recount their professional relationship, separate home relationships, and affiliation with the Dora Lange murder case. We bounce between the past and present while we progressively learn more about our character, the case, and that the perpetrator may still yet be at large.

I would highly recommend that everyone check out True Detective at some point. It is a show that is shot beautifully with an amazingly interesting story. The first time I watched it I was bored during the first episode and gave up on it; however, after I got to the third the show greatly increases in pace. The show is also scheduled to release a second season coming up in June of 2015.

MTV Cancels Eye Candy

MTV's TV show Eye Candy followed the life of Lindy Sampson, a 21 year-old hacker who's persuaded by her roommate to start an online dating profile. Lindy, portrayed by Victoria Justice, is hesitant, but does, and quickly starts suspecting that one of her many suitors might be a cyber stalker who is aiming for the kill. As a hacker who has been searching for her sister who was kidnapped 3 years earlier, she decides that she needs to team up with her friends to catch the cyber stalker before he can hurt anyone else. The show was based on a book by R.L. Stine and was picked up by MTV for season one in February 2014. Unfortunately, though, it's been confirmed that it will not return for a season two.
With an open-ended finale, and a lot of potential for the future of Lindy Sampson's story, fans are not impressed and not happy. We don't know if she'll find her sister or what the future holds for her and Tommy. The one thing they do know is that the killer is Jake. I don't know if the discovering of the killer was the selling point on canceling the series or what, but it doesn't make anyone feel anymore comforted with the series coming to an untimely end.
I do think that MTV is at a loss with this one. It was a young adult / teenage version of a Criminal Minds or crime show, and it was much better than the usual reality teen mom bull shit that they have on that channel. You can't tell me that Pretty Little Liars can go on for multiple seasons without revealing anything, yet a show that was progressing the story line thoroughly was canceled after the reveal in a season one finale and tell me that's fair. I think this show had a lot of potential, and the fans did too.  There could have been a sidekick to the killer, Lindy could have finally found her sister, relationships could have progressed, and the show could have gone on. Except it hasn't, which is definitely a loss in my eyes.

Blue Bloods

Easily one of my favorite shows on television right now is Blue Bloods. Blue Bloods follows the lives of the Reagans, NYPD's Family of Law Enforcement.

The main characters in the family are Frank, the Police Commissioner and son of former PC Henry Reagan, who must balance his duties of running the largest police force in the world and being his kids' boss. His daughter Erin who is an Assistant District Attorney, son Danny who is a senior detective and fellow Marine Veteran, and son Jamie who is a new Harvard Law grad turned cop.

The aspect that I love the most about this show is their central focus on the importance of family. Most cop shows on television are focused around the crime and "catching the bad guy", but Blue Bloods, no matter what the situation in each episode, always comes back to the family at the dinner table, proving their constant support and love for each other.

This is something that we're starting to see less and less on television, and I think the central family aspect is something to be admired and appreciated. This is 100% a show I would recommend to anyone!