Showrunner writer/director Issa López took over creative duties on HBO‘s acclaimed whodunnit thriller series “True Detective” from Nic Pizzolatto a few years back, and the results, a fourth season titled “True Detective: Night Country” were terrific (read our review). In spite of Pizzolato’s bitter sniping at the series—he spent a good amount of time throwing shade online at the series— ‘Night Country’ became the most viewed season of the series since the first installment and one of the most critically acclaimed tooo. López was previously announced as returning for a fifth season back in February, and she’s already teasing that the new season might have a connection to ‘Night Country,’ potentially even returning to the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska.
“It might or [may] not be connected to Ennis,” López teased of possibly returning to the harsh Alaskan setting for the new season while speaking to a crowd at a Deadline TV Contenders panel. “We will see.” There did seem to be an opening for more stories to be told with these characters, but traditionally, “True Detective” is known for switching up locations and investigators each season. It would be bucking that tradition if López decided to pursue a continuation.
READ MORE: Issa López Talks’ True Detective: Night Country,’ The Crooked Carcosa Spiral, Horror Influences & More [Deep Focus Podcast]
About the show’s ambiguous ending and whether Kali Reis‘ lead detective dies or not, he said there’s an answer, but she’s clearly not saying what it is.
“I think that if you look very carefully, very carefully at the show and follow the lines very carefully, there’s an answer to what we saw at the end,” she told the audience. “But again, there’s a space for where your heart wants to live…and what you need to get out of it.”
“Night Country” focused on a duo of local law enforcement in the rural mining community of Ennis, Alaska, played by Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, trying to unravel puzzling events that led to a group of scientists freezing to death in the elements during a winter storm, leading to a heap of questions surrounding the brutal circumstances of those deaths.
Perhaps the next season could take a page from an anthology show like “Fargo” and either push forward into the future with another case sprinkling in existing characters or focus on another string of murders in Ennis from the past, adding a period element into the mix. Or, López revisiting Reis and Foster, and their fates in a sequel would certainly break away from the expected “True Detective” format.
Either way, there is certainly a hungry audience ready for whatever HBO and López come up with for the next season.