If you were a fan of the latest iteration of "True Detective," here's some good news. Season 4 writer-director Issa López is returning to helm Season 5, according to Variety.
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Season 4 — given the subtitle "Night Country" — became the most-watched season of HBO's dark and gritty detective drama yet. The fourth installment of the anthology series racked up 12.7 million viewers across all platforms. And unlike most series, which see a significant dropoff rate as the season wears on, "Night Country gained momentum. The season finale on Feb. 18 became the most-watched episode of the season, garnering 3.2 million viewers — a 57% increase from its premiere in January.
Season 5 will likely continue the anthology formula and bring in a new cast, setting and investigation with brief but intriguing ties to a bigger picture painted by previous seasons.
The announcement comes on the heels of series creator Nic Pizzolatto sharing negative criticism of Season 4. He had no involvement with the script of the latest season but stayed on as executive producer. The negative comments he reposted called López's series "a hot mess," "lazy and nonsensical" as well as "disrespectful and insulting" to the seasons that came before. In since-deleted posts on Instagram, he called the tie-ins to Season 1 "so stupid."
Kali Reis, who starred in the fourth season alongside Jodie Foster, called out Pizzolatto for spreading the negative criticisms. "That's a damn shame," she wrote on X. "But hey I guess 'if you don't have anything good to share, s**t on others' is the new wave lol."
Pizzolatto wrote Season 1, which starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. His filmmaking debut was adored by fans and critics alike, receiving a 91% critical score and an 88% audience score on the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. It also nabbed 12 Emmy nominations — winning 5 of them — making Pizzolatto one of the hottest newcomers in the industry.
He fell into a sophomore slump with Season 2, which starred Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn and Rachel McAdams. The season was panned by both critics and fans. Pizzolatto got some help for the Mahershala Ali-led Season 3, co-writing the script alongside David Milch and Graham Gordy. The season marked a return to form for the series, receiving an 84% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. HBO went in a new direction for Season 4, tapping López to both write and direct the entire season.
