True Detective fans urged to watch seriously dark BBC 'masterpiece' with impressive Rotten Tomatoes rating

True Detective fans looking for their next crime fix have been urged to check out a 'masterpiece' from the BBC, with some viewers thinking it's actually better than the fare True Detective serves up nowadays.

One viewer even called it 'the only show that comes remotely close to scratching the eternal True Detective S1 itch', and that really is high praise.

This is Top of the Lake, which follows detective Robin Griffin (Elisabeth Moss) as she attempts to solve the disappearance of a pregnant 12-year-old girl in New Zealand.

Released in 2013, the first series of Top of the Lake actually has a better Rotten Tomatoes score than any series of True Detective.

Even that mythical first season of the crime show only managed to win over 92 percent of the critics, while Top of the Lake's first season is sitting pretty at 95 percent.

BBC/Sundance

At this point the difference really is splitting hairs and they're both excellent crime dramas, but it helps underline why so many True Detective fans reckon it's worth checking out.

"Don’t watch Season 4 of True Detective when you can just watch Top of the Lake instead," one even said, which seems pretty harsh on the rather well received fourth season.

Then again, this parallel is being made because lots of True Detective fans reckon season four 'has Top of the Lake vibes'.

Some viewers have said the latest season has been a 'pretty seismic shift in tone' as True Detective was now 'more about an ensemblized “town” instead of a subjective plunge into the point of views of the lead detectives'.

However, some viewers of both felt that Top of the Lake gave them something which True Detective didn't, saying the latter show 'actually gives a s**t about the victims, not just about being proven right'.

BBC/Sundance

If that sounds right up your alley then it's worth circling back to Top of the Lake to scratch the itch left by True Detective.

Plus once you've ploughed through the first season there's a follow up called Top of the Lake: China Girl starring Gwendoline Christie which follows the investigation of the death of a girl whose body was found on Bondi Beach, Australia.

A Top of the Lake fan said the show was 'two of the most staggering seasons of television ever created', so now you've really got to watch it and see what that's all about.

Co-produced by the BBC, Top of the Lake is available to stream in the UK for free on UKTV Play.

Topics: TV and Film, BBC

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

@MrJoeHarker