In addition to being one of the most well-received crime series in recent years, Nic Pizzolatto's True Detective features no shortage of flawed and deeply complicated main characters. The nuanced, three-dimensional characters featured in the three seasons of the hit HBO series are made even more memorable by the high caliber of acting, often with A-list movie stars standing in for typical television actors.
With a few exceptions, what makes the primary law enforcement characters on the show so compelling is the moral ambiguity they demonstrate while solving their respective crime. Even when they do bad things, they still manage to remain likable and interesting.
Frank Semyon - Season 2
No matter how hard he tries to make his business legitimate, Frank Semyon (Vince Vaughn) is ultimately a career criminal with few redeeming qualities. Insolent, mirthless, and violently vengeful, Semyon is the least likable of all the True Detective main characters.
Semyon remains too loathsome to root for or care about regardless of the depth the show gives him, especially when his business associate turns up dead before a major public deal goes through. Frank is even self-aware, once saying "sometimes your worst self is the best self." Still, he is an interesting character for viewers to watch.
Paul Woodrugh - Season 2
As a man of few words, Paul Woodrugh's (Taylor Kitsch) pained introversion makes him difficult to admire. Paul's internal struggles are relatable, but he's too impenetrable to truly get to know and like.
Despite keeping his colleagues at an arm's distance, Paul does his best to perform his job and start a family. Still, he remains too much of a cipher to understand. Actions do speak louder than words, and if even if there isn't much to cling to during much of Season 2, Paul's ultimate sacrifice is heroic, however.
Roland West - Season 3
Despite his good intentions and charming southern hospitality, Vietnam War vet and Arkansas State Police Detective Roland West (Stephen Dorff) serves as more of a background sidekick than a character on par with his partner and lead Detective, Wayne Hays (Mahershala Ali).
As a downhome cowboy type, West doesn't have a naturally magnetic personality. Instead, his likability comes from remaining loyal and assisting Hays even when he knows they're both running afoul of the law. He's a good-hearted cop who wants to do the right thing.
Ray Velcoro - Season 2
On paper, the character of Ray Velcoro should be as unlikeable as they come. Yet due to Colin Farrell's stellar performance, the vile vulgarian and self-destructive hothead remains compelling enough to root for.
With such defeatist axioms as "I welcome judgment" and "my strong suspicion is...we get the world we deserve," Velcoro seems unbearable. However, with dogged determination and unshakable loyalty, he sacrifices his own life to bring down the criminals by season's end while attempting to raise his son with honor.
Maggie Hart - Season 1
While her status as one of the main characters can be argued, Maggie Hart's (Michelle Monaghan) likability during True Detective Season 1 cannot. With an infectious attitude and bubbly personality, Maggie's warmth is the perfect antidote to Cohle's coldhearted cynicism.
In addition to her lovely demeanor, Maggie is made sympathetic through her husband Marty's (Woody Harrelson) chronic infidelity. She becomes even more likable and human as she evolves throughout the show.
Ani Bezzerides - Season 2
Ventura County Sheriff Ani Bezzerides (Rachel McAdams) is one of the most complicated True Detective characters of all. She is a compelling who carries a lot of weight on her shoulders and who viewers enjoy getting to learn more about and understand.
Bezzerides is tough-minded, independent, and doesn't suffer fools easily. She works hard to maintain herself in the world and also takes care of her younger sister.
Amelia Reardon - Season 3
British actress Carmen Ejogo is impossible to dislike. For this reason and others, her role as Amelia Reardon in True Detective Season 3 ranks among the upper half of the series' most likable characters.
Portrayed over three timelines: 1980, 1990, and 2015, Amelia begins as an Arkansas schoolteacher of the children who go missing. Over time, she marries Detective Wayne Hays and helps him solve a case by writing a true-fiction book that becomes a major success. While taking care of Wayne later in life, Amelia's book provides the key information that Wayne uses to identify the culprit.
Marty Hart - Season 1
Due to Woody Harrelson's inherent magnetism and charismatic charm, the otherwise loathsome Detective Marty Hart remains one of the show's most lovable characters. Despite his lecherous ways, his droll interactions with his partner Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) are too hilarious to dislike.
Hart's evolution from 1995 to 2012 also paints a fully-rounded character who learns from his mistakes, shows remorse, and vows to be a better person. The sequence when he tearfully regrets wronging his wife and missing his daughters' maturation underscores his sympathetic qualities.
Wayne Hays - Season 3
With an air of dignity, grace, and goodness, Arkansas Detective Wayne Hays overcomes too many personal obstacles to dislike for a single second. Attempting to solve a 35-year-old cold case while remaining a dedicated father and husband, Hays' struggles allow the viewers to really understand him.
Of course, Mahershala Ali's SAG and Emmy-nominated performance as Hays makes the character even more likable. His backstory as a ruthless tracker in Vietnam balances him to form a fully dimensional protagonist.
Rustin Cohle - Season 1
Despite his nihilism and deep philosophical rantings, Rustin Cohle remains the single-most likable character in True Detective history. The character is a testament to Pizzolatto's brilliant writing fused with McConaughey's superb acting.
Marred by the death of his daughter and subsequent divorce from his wife, the standoffish Cohle abides by his own methods to solve grisly crimes in Louisiana. His self-destructive tendencies are countered by his highly perceptive detective skills, leading viewers down the path of a fascinating story.