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His efforts not only got him an Emmy, but showed off his stunning visual eye, with gorgeous wide shots of Louisiana bayou country and the now-famous six-minute single shot in the finale of one of the episodes.
But along with the praise came rumors that he and the show's creator, Nic Pizzolatto, never got along during the making of the season.
Fukunaga never intended to take the directing reins for season two of the anthology series, as it moved to Los Angeles to focus on the shady dealings of city officials, police, and the underworld. Though he did stay on as an executive producer.
But Fukanaga can't escape the "True Detective" questions. And it turns out he still hasn't gotten around to watching season two.
HBO
So last week, we asked Fukunaga if he's binged it.
"I have not," he said.
He's not curious that Pizzolatto supposedly based a character on him this season?
"No. Not really," he said. "And me not watching it is not a statement. I haven't had the time."
But he did have time to check out the newest original comedy series on Netflix.
"The only think I've binged is Aziz Ansari's 'Master of None,'" he said. "It's great."