The last time that Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey teamed up onscreen, it for the first season of HBO crime anthology “True Detective.”
The series brought both actors critical acclaim, a dense and brutal saga of the years-long hunt for a wily serial killer, with the two playing flawed and deeply damaged cops.
Now, more than a decade later, the two are reuniting for a new series — although fans expecting another “True Detective” may want to recalibrate their expectations.
‘Brothers’ Is No ‘True Detective’
In a recent onstage conversation held at the Sarajevo National Theater in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday, August 18, Harrelson warned that their new Apple TV series, “Brothers” is a world away from their earlier collaboration.
“If you like ‘True Detective and you want more of that, it’s not this,” he said, via Variety.
“’Brothers’ follows McConaughey and Harrelson, who play fictionalized versions of themselves, and their lifelong friendship is thrown into chaos when they uncover a decades-old secret: they might actually be brothers,” reads Apple TV’s logline.
“After Woody’s daughter’s wedding falls apart, he loads up the family and heads to Austin for an extended stay at Matthew’s ranch. But what begins as a healing getaway quickly spirals when Matthew’s mother, Ma Mac (played by Holland Taylor), accidentally lets slip a long-buried secret that the two friends might actually be brothers,” the logline continues. “As Woody turns the ranch upside down in pursuit of the truth, Matthew finds himself juggling an entirely different identity crisis: a potential run for Governor of Texas. The result is a heartfelt, chaotic and wildly funny story about friendship, family, fame and the messy line between myth and reality.”
A ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’-Style Comedy
Apple TVAs Harrelson explained, the real-life revelation that he and McConaughey may actually share the same father planted the seed that grew into “Brothers.”
“I started ruminating on this and thought it would make a pretty cool show,” Harrelson said. “We are playing ourselves but fictional, like ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm.'”
Truth or Rumor?
Back in 2023, McConaughey first broached the subject while appearing on Kelly Ripa‘s podcast, discussing his close friendship with Harrelson.
At the time, he revealed that he and his mom were hanging out with Harrelson when she casually dropped a bombshell.
“In Greece a few years ago, we’re sitting around talking about how close we are…. and my mom says, ‘Woody, I knew your daddy,’” McConaughey realled, via Entertainment Weekly.
“It was a loaded ‘k-n-e-w.’ Well, we went on to unpack this, what ‘knew’ meant, and did some math and found out that his dad was on furlough at the same time that my mom and dad were in their second divorce,” he explained.
“Then there’s possible receipts in places out in West Texas where there might have been a gathering, or a meeting, or a ‘knew’ moment,” he added.
DNA Test?
That same year, Harrelson made an appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” and recounted how they learned they might actually be half-brothers.
“We want to go for a [DNA] test, but for him, it’s a much more big deal,” Harrelson explained.
“I mean, he feels like he is losing a father,” he added. “But I’m like, no, you’re gaining a different father and a brother.”
“Brothers” debuts Wednesday, September 23 on Apple TV.
