The Texan actors (and possible siblings?) are reuniting in “Brothers,” an Apple TV comedy series in which they play themselves.

Woody Harrelson explains why True Detective fans might be disappointed by his new show with Matthew McConaughey

The Texan actors (and possible siblings?) are reuniting in “Brothers,” an Apple TV comedy series in which they play themselves.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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August 19, 2026 2:11 p.m. ET

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Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey in London on Nov. 8, 2018. Credit:

David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty

- Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey starred together on *True Detective*.

- They’re set to reunite in the Apple TV comedy *Brothers*.

- Harrelson warned that there’s little resemblance between the two shows.

Woody Harrelson is reuniting with Matthew McConaughey on the small screen — but he doesn’t want people to expect anything like their last endeavor together.

The two Texan actors star as fictionalized versions of themselves on Apple TV’s *Brothers*, and Harrelson clarified that the new show bears no resemblance to *True Detective*.

“If you like *True Detective *and you want more of that, it’s not this,” the *Cheers* star told audiences at the Sarajevo National Theater in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday (via *Variety*).

The new series hinges on the real-life revelation that the two actors might share a parent, potentially making them half-brothers.

“I started ruminating on this and thought it would make a pretty cool show,” Harrelson said. “We are playing ourselves but fictional, like *Curb Your Enthusiasm*.”

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in ‘True Detective’.

Michele K. Short/HBO

In the show, McConaughey’s mother (played by Holland Taylor) reveals a secret that leads him and Harrelson to believe that they might be brothers. Chaos ensues as the *Hunger Games* actor takes his family to McConaughey’s ranch after Harrelson’s* *daughter’s wedding ends in disaster, and the *Dallas Buyers Club *star weighs a campaign for the Governor of Texas.

In real life, McConaughey revealed that he was hanging out with his mother and Harrelson when she shared a shocking confession.

“In Greece a few years ago, we’re sitting around talking about how close we are.... and my mom says, ‘Woody, I *knew* your daddy,’” the *Sahara* star remembered. “It was a loaded ‘k-n-e-w.’ Well, we went on to unpack this, what ‘knew’ meant, and did some math and found out that his dad was on furlough at the same time that my mom and dad were in their second divorce. Then there’s possible receipts in places out in West Texas where there might have been a gathering, or a meeting, or a ‘knew’ moment.”

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Harrelson later said that he wanted McConaughey to take a DNA test to ascertain his true parentage. “The year of [Matthew’s] birth, nine months before, [his mother] was on a sabbatical from her relationship with his supposed father, Jim,” the *White Men Can’t Jump* star said in 2023. “We want to go for a [DNA] test, but for him, it’s a much more big deal. I mean, he feels like he is losing a father. But I’m like, no, you’re gaining a different father and a brother.”

McConaughey recently referenced his potential family connection to Harrelson in a post celebrating the *Now You See Me* star’s birthday. “From another mother?” McConaughey wrote on Instagram. “Happy birthday brother.”

It’s a wonder that Harrelson wants to work with McConaughey again, as he recently revealed that the *Dazed and Confused* actor’s commitment to his role as Rustin Spencer “Rust” Cohle on *True Detective* got on his nerves. “He’s method,” Harrelson said of McConaughey. “When we were shooting, he was Rust Cohle. There [were] so many times I wanted to punch this motherf---er in the face. I’m so pissed at him ‘cause he’s in his character.”

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Then again, it’s probably not as frustrating to hang out with McConaughey when he’s in character as…Matthew McConaughey.

*Brothers* premieres on Apple TV on Sept. 23.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Comedy”