Crime drama True Detective hasn’t been on the air since the third season ran its memory-plagued course in 2019. HBO Max subscribers who have wanted to see creator Nic Pizzolatto return with another season of dark, existential detective work have been waiting for roughly three years for another round. Depending on who you ask, that wait may have been worth it. While Pizzolatto isn’t involved in Season 4 of True Detective at this time, the Oscar-winning icon Jodie Foster has just been named as one of the stars of Season 4, as well as an executive producer.
Having portrayed one of cinema's most memorable investigators in Clarice Starling, Jodie Foster has reportedly been cast in the role of Detective Liz Danvers. Foster’s season has officially been named True Detective: Night Country, per the news broken by THR. That said, this fourth season is still “in development,” with no clear debut or production dates in store. Should the series move forward, here’s the concept that’s being considered:
When the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska, the six men that operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace. To solve the case, Detectives Liz Danvers and Evangeline Navarro will have to confront the darkness they carry in themselves, and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice.
Nic Pizzolatto will remain credited as an executive producer on Season 4 of True Detective, despite not being involved with the series’ production or creative efforts. Joining Jodie Foster on the behind-the-scenes end is Tigers Are Not Afraid’s Issa Lopez and Fear The Walking Dead’s Alan Page Arriaga, with both having been selected to write the season’s episodes. Even more exciting is the fact that Lopez is intended to add directing duties to her workload, should the season go forward.
While these developments surrounding True Detective: Night Country are promising, it comes with a bittersweet caveat. Nic Pizzolatto’s non-involvement means we’ll never see the “most exciting” True Detective idea he had for Season 4, which was something that was pitched around the time Season 3 had aired. Pizzolatto was never fully committed to a fourth season with HBO, but that cryptic idea was enough to have him ready to return, if the network came calling.
There are still plenty of exciting possibilities that can crop up in this potential Season 4, especially thanks to the killer casting of Jodie Foster. Some HBO fans might even be motivated to hope for a Silence of the Lambs reunion, as Foster’s co-star/robot dance enthusiast Sir Anthony Hopkins is a veteran of the network's show Westworld.
It may be a bit of a stretch, but worse ideas have happened. Just ask the scores of fans who carry the scars of what True Detective Season 2, the usually lowest ranked season. True Detective: Night Country is currently in development, so details are scarce at the moment. For those of you looking for what’s already on the menu of 2022 TV premieres, it doesn’t take a detective to point you in the right direction.
