Rust and Marty are returning.
Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson have stepped back into their iconic True Detective roles for a new advert promoting Texas as a TV and film location.
The hit HBO anthology crime series premiered in 2014, following detectives Rust (McConaughey) and Marty (Harrelson) across almost two decades as they attempt to uncover the truth behind a series of disturbing murders.
The show was a hit, and though three more seasons have arrived since with stars like Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams and Mahershala Ali.
Now, the beloved characters of Rust and Marty have reunited in a new ad written and directed by series creator Nic Pizzolatto.
The video for True to Texas urges the Texas legislature to create new incentives for film and TV productions to shoot in the Lone Star State.
The commercial also includes appearances by Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton and Renée Zellweger.
“Hollywood is flat circle, Woody,” drawls McConaughey like his character Rusty Cohle in the first season of the HBO series.
“This industry is like somebody’s memory of an industry. I’m talking about a whole new hub for film and television. A renaissance. A rebirth.”
“A small fraction of Texas budget surplus to turn this state into the new Hollywood,” adds Harrelson.
Texas stories deserve a Texas backdrop. That’s why I teamed up with Dennis Quaid, Woody Harrelson, Billy Bob Thornton, and Renée Zellweger for True to Texas. It’s time to bring film and TV productions home! pic.twitter.com/iMpRMRx2Hj
— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) January 29, 2025
“If all these other states are going to offer incentives, then that’s where we’re going to keep going. I just wish we could bring some of these productions home to Texas,” says Zellweger.
“Ain’t all that money like corporate welfare for big Hollywood studios?” wonders Harrelson.
“No, it’s not,” counters McConaughey. “Real Texas business owners and citizens see every dollar spent from this incentive put $4 back into the state of Texas.”
Texas celebrities have been lobbying the legislature to boost film and TV incentives to better compete with states like Georgia and New Mexico.
In October, Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan told lawmakers: “One of my great frustrations was that I wrote Hell or High Water, and they filmed the darn thing in New Mexico. My love story to Texas was shot west of where it should have been shot.”