Woody Harrelson Just Set The Record Straight About What His Matthew McConaughey Reunion Actually Is
Fans of ‘True Detective’ have been waiting more than a decade for Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson to share the screen again, and that reunion is finally happening. The two actors are set to appear together in ‘Brothers,’ an Apple TV comedy in which they play fictionalized versions of themselves, with the show arriving Sept. 23.
The project has been a long time coming. Apple TV picked up the series back in March 2023, when the studio behind it was still known as Skydance Television and had not yet become part of Paramount. Harrelson recently opened up about the show during a career talk in Bosnia, where he was honored with the Heart of Sarajevo Award and spoke to a packed house at the Sarajevo National Theater.
That is where the actor made clear that anyone expecting a continuation of ‘True Detective’ tone should temper expectations. If you like ‘True Detective’ and want more of that, Harrelson told the crowd, it is not this. He explained that the concept started as something he had been mulling over and eventually turned into a project he could not pass up.
He compared the tone of the new series to another beloved comedy, describing it as the two of them playing themselves but fictionalized, similar to ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm.’ It is a notable shift from the bleak Louisiana crime drama that first paired the two actors together over a decade ago.
The premise of ‘Brothers’ leans into real-life rumors that have followed McConaughey and Harrelson for years. The show follows the pair as their friendship spirals after they uncover a decades-old secret, the possibility that they might actually be brothers, with the truth surfacing at McConaughey’s ranch in Austin after Harrelson’s daughter’s wedding falls apart. Per the official logline, Harrelson turns the ranch upside down chasing answers while McConaughey juggles a very different crisis, a potential run for Governor of Texas.
Are you excited for this reunion between the actors?
The series was created by Lee Eisenberg, known for his work on ‘The Office’ and ‘Jury Duty,’ who took over as showrunner and executive producer alongside McConaughey and Harrelson. The eight episode first season kicks off with two episodes on premiere day, followed by weekly installments through the season finale on Nov. 4. The cast also includes Natalie Martinez, Brittany Ishibashi, Holland Taylor as Ma Mac, along with Nolan Almeida, Ella Grace Helton, Noah Carganilla, Highdee Kuan and Oona Yaffe.
This marks the third time McConaughey and Harrelson have worked together on screen, following ‘EDtv’ in 1999 and the first season of ‘True Detective’ in 2014. Given how different ‘Brothers’ sounds tonally from the brooding crime saga that made their pairing iconic, it is fair to wonder how longtime fans of the HBO series will react once the show actually premieres.
With Harrelson himself warning viewers not to expect another ‘True Detective,’ how do you think longtime fans of the McConaughey and Harrelson pairing will feel once ‘Brothers’ finally hits their screens this September?
