When True Detective landed in 2014 it was met with universal acclaim: the show, which starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as brusque Louisiana detectives, picked up a number of glitzy award nominations and wins and was widely regarded as one of the strongest dramas of the year.
It was a no-brainer, then, that creator Nic Pizzolatto would follow with further series, and a second and third chapter premiered in 2015 and 2019. But despite boasting some stellar actors (Colin Farrell and Mahershala Ali lead the series respectively) and gripping plots, they failed to live up to the heights of the original.
Now the anthology show is returning for a fourth series, and, being jam-packed full of stars (including Jodie Foster), situated in snowy Alaska, and with new director Issa López onboard, the show looks truly rebooted and ready to thrill. Here are the key things to know about True Detective: Night Country.
What is True Detective: Night Country about?
The six-parter, which has been directed by Mexican producer, writer and filmmaker Issa López follows Jodie Foster's character, Detective Elizabeth Danvers. Purposefully inverting the first series which was set in humid Louisiana, series four takes audiences to freezing cold fictional Alaskan town of Ennis, which is in the Arctic Circle where the sun doesn't rise for weeks during winter.
"Where True Detective is male and it’s sweaty, Night Country is cold and it’s dark and it’s female," said López to Vanity Fair. The new series follows Danvers and fellow female officer Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) as they investigate the disappearance of eight scientists who have been working at an Arctic research centre. The scientists have left behind their mobiles and access passes, so it seems unlikely that Danvers is looking at an expedition gone wrong. Danvers and Navarro share a complicated past, adding further strain to their hard-going investigation.
When is the release date?
The new series was released in the UK on January 15.
How can I watch the new series?
True Detective's fourth chapter will air on both Sky Atlantic and NOW, so anyone with a subscription to either of those streaming sites will be able to watch the thrilling new series.
Who is starring in the new series?
Series four has a cast packed full of stars. American former world champion boxer turned actor Kali Reis stars alongside Foster as police officer Evangeline Navarro.
Then, Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter, Killing Eve, Fleabag) will play a character called Rose Aguineau – though details are sparse about Aguineau's exact role in the show. Similarly, we know that Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who) will play a character called Ted Corsaro.
John Hawkes (Winter's Bone), Anna Lambe (The Grizzlies) and new face Isabella Star LaBlanc also star.
Although Jodie Foster famously played young FBI officer Clarice Starling in her career-defining role in The Silence of the Lambs (1991), López said to EW that she did not intentionally make any nods to Foster's earlier work while directing.
After coming onboard as director, López watched True Detective series one: "It's massively influenced by [David Fincher's] Seven," she said to EW. "And then Seven is obviously a direct descendant of [Jonathan Demme's] Silence of the Lambs. So going to the origin and embracing the very thing that started the whole trend, which is Jodie, and putting her back in the universe, I think is speaking to the fans."
