This Creepy Ice-Cold Crime Series Is the ‘True Detective’ Replacement You’ve Been Looking For

For crime drama fans who crave icy landscapes, haunted detectives, and slow-burn investigations that feel like they seep into your bones, Cardinal is the chilly answer to the void left every time True Detective leaves your screen. Adapted from Giles Blunt’s acclaimed mystery novels, this Canadian thriller trades the sun-baked noir of Louisiana or California for a stark Northern Ontario winter, where even the snow feels dangerous, and the cold becomes as threatening as the killers themselves. Across four seasons, Cardinal builds a world where guilt hangs heavy in the air, justice is rarely clean, and survival isn’t guaranteed — physically or emotionally.

‘Cardinal’ Thrives in the Cold

Detective John Cardinal (Billy Campbell) is a deeply wounded and stoic police officer whose determination to get results for his victims sometimes comes at too high a cost. During the first season, Cardinal finds himself on a murder case when the body of a missing Indigenous girl is found frozen — a case for which he’d been demoted due to his refusal to let it go. Cardinal is driven by instinct, but is held back by a protective shell, while the pressure of responsibility is overwhelming. Alongside Detective Lise Delorme (Karine Vanasse), Cardinal’s partner, who is determined, observant, and adds warmth, intellect, and also some strength to the relationship.

Each season adapts a different Blunt novel across six tightly focused episodes. The first season follows the brutal chase of a methodical killer, while the second season centers on the violence done in a ritualistic way and the conflict between the criminal underworlds. The third season focuses more on what happens to Cardinal personally, specifically on the attack on his family. The last season is an ambient, emotionally charged case involving politics/revenge/emotion, specifically revolving around Cardinal/Delorme as their future becomes uncertain.

What makes Cardinal unique is its ability to depict brutality while showing feelings of anguish. The violence depicted is harrowing; however, what each character is left to cope with on an emotional level is much more compelling — the grief left behind, the trauma created, and the humanity that detectives strive to retain. Cardinal takes its time telling a story. It moves at a slow pace. It allows silence to linger. It believes that viewers will remain in a state of dread/fear. And, much like True Detective at its peak, the focus is more on how the crime destroys the investigator than on the crime itself.

‘Cardinal’s Haunting Partnership Anchors the Darkness

At the heart of Cardinal is its central duo. Campbell delivers one of the most quietly devastating performances of his career — stoic, weary, stubborn, and deeply human. Cardinal is a man defined by guilt and love in equal measure, especially when it comes to his wife, Catherine (Deborah Hay), and the private struggles surrounding her mental health. His grief doesn’t feel like a plot device; it feels lived-in.

Vanasse is equally compelling as Lise Delorme. She’s not written as simply “the partner,” but as an emotional anchor, moral compass, and investigative equal. Their relationship evolves slowly over the seasons — layered with trust, tension, restraint, and tenderness. There’s unspoken affection, subtle yearning, and a deep respect that never turns into overblown melodrama. Even when the show hints at romance, it does so with maturity, not fanfare.

Their dynamic is the reason Cardinal works. The cases are compelling, the atmosphere is extraordinary, but it’s the bond between these two detectives that keeps the series grounded and deeply human.

If you loved True Detective for its brooding protagonists, haunting imagery, and philosophical sadness, Cardinal is absolutely in that lineage — just filtered through Canadian frost instead of Southern heat. It’s bleak without being nihilistic. It’s methodical rather than sensational. It’s stylish in a way that feels natural rather than self-conscious.