Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson Reprise Their True Detective Roles in Push for Texas Film Incentives

Time is a flat circle, so it makes sense that Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson would return to their True Detective roles at some point.

The two actors have teamed up for an ad calling on Texas lawmakers to create new incentives to bring more film and TV production to the Lone Star State. In the ad, which is co-written and directed by True Detective series creator Nic Pizzolatto, McConaughey and Harrelson slip right back into their True Detective personas as investigators Rust Cohle and Marty Hart — although, technically, they’re playing themselves.

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McConaughey laments how “Hollywood is a flat circle,” stuck in a rut of restrictions and regulations, “round and round, like a record with the sound off.” But he doesn’t want to stop the record: “I want to change the tune.” He even paraphrases his own Season 1 quote, saying that “this industry is like somebody’s memory of an industry, and the memory is fading.” Instead, he envisions “a whole new hub” for film and TV production in Texas, “a renaissance, a rebirth.”

He’s interrupted by Dennis Quaid, playing a prisoner handcuffed in their backseat, as Harrelson points out that just “a small fraction of the Texas budget surplus could turn this place into the new Hollywood.” McConaughey then gets a call from Billy Bob Thornton, who’s calling from a busy film set in Texas, followed by a call from Renée Zellweger, who’s excited to start filming in her home state: “I’ve been hotel-hopping in these other states for way too long.”

McConaughey and Harrelson co-starred in Season 1 of True Detective, HBO’s crime anthology that debuted in 2014. Season 2 brought in a new cast, with Colin Farrell and Rachel McAdams starring, and Season 3 was led by Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff. Pizzolatto stepped aside as showrunner after three seasons, with Issa López taking the reins for Season 4, aka True Detective: Night Country, which aired last year and starred Jodie Foster and Kali Reis. HBO has renewed True Detective for Season 5, with López returning as showrunner and featuring a new setting and cast of characters.

Press PLAY below to watch McConaughey and Harrelson’s reunion:

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