True Detective: Night Country has left fans wondering about the future of HBO‘s crime anthology series following the February 18th season finale, but the mystery has been solved. There’s more on the horizon as the show has been renewed for a fifth season with Issa López once again set to helm the latest chapter.
The news comes as López signs a new overall deal to create content exclusive to HBO and Max. “From conception to release, Night Country has been the most beautiful collaboration and adventure of my entire creative life,” López shared in a statement. “HBO trusted my vision all the way, and the idea of bringing to life a new incarnation of True Detective with Casey, Francesca, and the whole team is a dream come true. I can’t wait to go again.”
“Issa López is that one-of-a-kind, rare talent that speaks directly to HBO’s creative spirit,” Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films stated. “She helmed True Detective: Night Country from start to finish, never once faltering from her own commendable vision, and inspiring us with her resilience both on the page and behind the camera. Alongside Jodie and Kali’s impeccable performances, she’s made this installation of the franchise a massive success, we are so lucky to have her as part of our family.”
No official season storyline or details have been released at this time, but López wrote, directed, and executive produced Night Country, the anthology’s fourth season, which followed the story of Detectives Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis). When a group of scientists in their fictional town of Ennis, Alaska go missing, a connection to a cold case brings Danvers and Navarro together after years of working apart.
Whether or not Season 4’s storyline could bleed into Season 5, Reis told TV Insider she isn’t so sure Evangeline Navarro is equipped to take on another case. “Navarro has gone through the wringer, man, leave that woman alone,” the star said with a laugh. “No, I think it was meant to be what it is,” Reis added, noting that Navarro and Danvers’ story felt complete.
“I mean, you could go off and explore each character. You can explore who they were before all this s**t hit the fan, so to speak. You can explore way back. You can explore [the far] future. But I think you can’t have Danvers and Navarro solving a case without them hating each other,” she continued.
Reis praised López’s storytelling though, noting, “If Issa was like, ‘Listen, this is what we’re doing…’,” trailing off, then she’d consider returning, “because I loved her stories.” But perhaps the show will continue its single-season storytelling format as López refers to her run with the show as a “new incarnation.” Only time will tell for certain.
Night Country was True Detective‘s most-watched season with 12.7 million cross-platform viewers. In addition to López’s showrunning role, True Detective‘s fourth season was executive produced by Foster, Mari Jo Winkler, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, Chris Mundy, Alan Page Arriaga, Steve Golin, Richard Brown, Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Cary Joji Fukunaga, and Nic Pizzolatto.