HB-Oh No They'd Didn't! The Sunday, March 9 finale of HBO's True Detective was one of the most anticipated TV moments so far of 2014. But some rabid fans of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson's acclaimed drama encountered some unwelcome tech drama: HBO GO, the premium cable network's streaming service, crashed during the broadcast.
The service — which can stream episodes in real time — was overwhelmed by subscribers concurrently logging in around 9 p.m. EST, and users discovered a spinning circle and a black screen. Cue mass freakout!
"Due to overwhelmingly popular demand for #TrueDetective, we've been made aware of an issue affecting some users. Please try again soon," HBO GO's Twitter account conceded.
Watchers and media critics alike had fun with the anxiety-inducing meltdown. "Next week on True Detective: Marty and Rust frantically scramble to log onto HBO Go to learn what happened this week on True Detective," the New York Times' Dave Itzkoff tweeted.
Added critic Ryan McGee: "The HBO Go buffer circle looks EXACTLY the same as the fifth Olympic ring that didn't open in Sochi. #TrueDetective"
Those who did manage to catch the series finale had applause — but plenty of questions, too.
"Whatever its faults, and they were many, True Detective's power lies in the way it made us feel when we watched it," Rolling Stone's Sean Collins wrote., who called the show's final twist a "g—amn achievement" "Like Rust and Marty, we'll always have the memory of being drawn into its dark territory."