With True Detective Season 5 coming to the airwaves (and for anyone with an HBO Max subscription) in the next couple of years, there’s been a lot of talk about who’ll be leading the series. There have been reports of Nicolas Cage leading the latest installment of the hit anthology series, but I recently came across a Reddit post that jokingly pitched an off-the-wall pairing that I think could totally work.
No, it’s not the return of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. Nor is it Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorf, or even the all-star cast from the divisive second season. Instead, it’s something stranger, wilder, and straight-up odd: Tim Robinson and Nathan Fielder. But again, I think this could work…
Tim Robinson And Nathan Fielder Leading A Season Of True Detective Would Be Bonkers
Tim Robinson, with his terrifyingly uncomfortable Friendship, and Nathan Fielder, with the second season of his deadpan docuseries, The Rehearsal, provided two of the most unforgettable experiences I had throughout all of 2025. As far as I know, these two have never worked together, but they could change that by teaming up to lead a season of True Detective. I mean, it would seriously be the most bonkers thing to happen on the show, which is saying something.
Just the idea of these two playing detectives trying to get to the bottom of some kind of murder plot, kidnapping, or conspiracy of some sort sounds intriguing, and I think it would make for must-see TV. The show has taken some strange steps in the past, and isn’t afraid to try new things, so why not go full gonzo with the format and have these two do their thing?
Give Us A Bizarro, Half-Serious Season, And These Guys Would Crush It
One of my colleagues has already made a case for Tim Robinson appearing on shows like Severance, It: Welcome to Derry, and The Pitt, but I think having him, along with Fielder, show up and attempt to solve a mystery would be on a whole other level. After watching The Chair Company and its various layers, Robinson could handle something like this. Fielder, who reached new heights when getting to the bottom of the airline industry in The Rehearsal Season 2, would also make for a believable detective, even if he didn’t have his trademark schemes.
The way these two brilliantly walk the line between being serious characters and absolute maniacs on the edge would add so much to the famed drama (and the crime TV genre as a whole). As we’ve seen on The Chair Company and The Curse, these two can handle unsettling drama just as well as they can comedy. Their unique sense of humor could also add another level of uneasiness and tension to an already intense drama that leaves you guessing from start to finish.
Do I think HBO will ever give the OK to a season of True Detective with Tim Robinson and Nathan Fielder at the heart of the drama? I don’t really know. That said, it’s best to never say never when it comes to these things.
