With the ten year anniversary of True Detective season 1 approaching, here are few interesting elements of the show set in Acadiana.

The series, led by Hollywood stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, has been critically acclaimed by the likes of both audiences and critics. Set in Acadiana, the first season of HBO’s crime series, True Detective, follows two detectives as the try to solve a string of suspicious ritualistic murders in South Louisiana.

“Marty” Hart went to USL

One of the two main protagonist of the show, Hart, played by Woody Harrelson, is a Lafayette native and a former USL, now ULL, star baseball player. USL can be seen a few times in the series, like in an episode when Hart’s wife is shown wearing a USL shirt and another time in a close up of one of Hart’s belt buckles. The buckle reads “USL All Around Cowboy 1987 Hart.”

The series’ first murder investigation is in Erath

The series kicks off when Hart and his partner Rust Cohle, played by Matthew McConaughey, investigate a body found in a sugar-cane field near the town of Erath, in Vermilion Parish. 28-year-old Dora Lange was found murdered and oddly positioned facing a tree with a crown of deer antlers. Lange’s death in Erath would be the first of many ritualistic murders the detective duo would investigate throughout the series.

The Tuttle Family originated in Erath

The series main protagonist, The Tuttle family, is said to have origins in Erath. In the last episode of the series, Cohle mentions a part of Erath where the Tuttles are from is heavily involved in old traditions of voodoo and ancient occult religious influences. This makes a connection to the ritualist style of the killings the detectives had been investigating.

Centered in Lafayette

Detectives Hart and Cohle are both Louisiana State Police crime detectives and work out of Lafayette. The series largely takes place within Lafayette and its neighboring communities.

Lafayette is mentioned and alluded to numerous time throughout the series like when the detectives are in a meeting with Major Ken Quesada and he shows them the front page of the Lafayette newspaper, The Daily Advertiser. In the very last episode, when Cohle is being treated for his injuries at Lafayette General, a Lafayette General sign can be seen as the two stand outside having a conversation.

Burned Church in Eunice

While the pair are investigating the murder of Dora Lange in Erath, they are led to a burned church in Eunice. The church belonged to the Friends of Christ Revival before it burned, where apparently Lange had been a frequent visitor. At the church they find a disturbing painting on the charred wood of the church. Later on in the series, the pair of detectives travel to Franklin where the church has relocated to question the pastor.

HBO used a Vermilion Parish native to help with the show

As the show is largely based around law enforcement, specifically the Louisiana State Police, the series used a former LSP detective to make the show as realistic as possible. Tim Hanks, a Vermilion Parish native, spent 22 years with the Louisiana State Police. Hanks served as a technical advisor to producers, to help make the true crime show as authentic as possible. He also has a small speaking roll in episode six. In a interview with Deadline, Hanks spoke about his roll on set.

“I’d stand behind Fukunaga, (the series director), and when Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson felt like they needed help, I was there for them to reach out to.” But the pro actors mostly had it down. “They’d maybe ask me about whether I’d bring my weapon into a jail, or how I’d hold it,” Hanks says. “Those kinds of things.”

Iberia Parish Sheriff

In episode 8 of the series the two detectives’ investigation leads them to talk to the Iberia Parish Sheriff Steve Geraci. Hart takes Geraci golfing where he tries to question Geraci about the Fontenot case, in which Geraci said the former Iberia Parish Sheriff had talked to the family. Hart then takes Geraci on a fishing trip in which Hart and Cohle hold Geraci at gunpoint in an attempt to get him to reveal more information.

Crime Scene in Lake Charles

While Cohle is being interrogated in present day of the series, the two detectives questioning him show Cohle a file of an on going case. The file they give him is titled “Lake Charles Sheriff’s Department Courtesy Incident Report.” The detectives then show him a picture of himself taken at the crime scene in Lake Charles.

These are just a few of the many references to Acadiana in the true crime series. If you would like to watch True Detective season 1, as well as the other seasons, they can be watched on the streaming service Max.