True Detective: Night Country is coming to HBO soon – and this is your guide to everything you have to know about it.
When it comes to some of the best HBO shows, what are some of the ones you think of first? It could be Game of Thrones, or its popular spinoff, House of the Dragon. Or, you could think of older shows and The Wire might pop up. Perhaps the cast of The Sopranos is something you think of, as well. However, for a long time, I’ve always thought of True Detective.
The crime anthology on HBO has had three seasons so far, with three new casts for each story, following crime tales that have so many twists and turns that it’s hard to even keep track. And now, after a long wait, Season 4 is finally on the way here. But for fans of True Detective, one might be wondering who is going to star – and when comes out on the 2024 TV schedule. For your crime drama inquiries, here's what we know about True Detective: Night Country (aka Season 4).
What Is The True Detective: Night Country Premiere Date?
As of updating this in December 2023, True Detective: Night Country will premiere on January 14, 2024, according to a Deadline report in September. It also confirmed that the season is only going to be six episodes.
In March 2022 it was confirmed that the fourth season was officially greenlit by HBO, according to Deadline. This was such a huge win, since we hadn’t seen any serious news about a possible Season 4 in ages. And now, as of updating this in December 2023, it’s right around the corner.
Jodie Foster And Kali Reis Will Be Co-Leads
Featured in the Deadline article above regarding the confirmation of Season 4, it was confirmed that Academy Award-winner Jodie Foster would star in True Detective: Night Country. As you’re likely aware, Jodie Foster is an all-around fantastic actress who has been in dozens of films.
Two of her most famous, The Accused and The Silence of the Lambs, won her Academy Awards for Best Actress, but other than that, she’s been in plenty of other big movies and TV shows like Sommersby, Anna and the King, Flightplan, and more, and even directed several TV shows like Orange is the New Black, Black Mirror, and House of Cards.
However, she’s not the only one that’s taking on a starring role in Season 4. According to Variety in June 2022, Kali Reis will star opposite Jodie Foster in the fourth season in a lead role.
Kali Reis is known more for her stellar skills in the boxing world, where she has held several world championships in multiple classes. According to the Variety article, she has a professional record of 19 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw. However, she has had some acting experience as well, appearing in the film IFC film, Catch the Fair One.
The two actresses are set to play the characters Detectives Liz Danvers (Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Reis).
John Hawkes, Fiona Shaw, And More Will Also Star
Now, we have the two stars of True Detective Season 4, so all we need are their co-stars – and thankfully, those have been cast! According to Variety in September 2022, actors have already been cast in big roles for the show, and these include John Hawkes, Christopher Eccleston, Fiona Shaw, Finn Bennett, and Anna Lambe.
All of the character names have been announced as well. Hawkes will play Hank Prior, a police officer. Eccleston will portray Ted Corsario, a chief of police, and someone who has a close past with Foster’s character. Shaw is going to play Rose Aguineau, a survivalist, and Bennett will play an apprentice to Danvers called Peter Prior. Lambe will play Kayla Malee, a nurse.
Also confirmed in October 2022 from Deadline was that Aki Niviâna, Isabella Star Lablanc, and Joel D. Montgrad had joined for Season 4. Niviâna will play Julia. Lablanc will play Leah. And Montgrand will play Eddie Qavvik.
All of these actors and actresses have done so much, and it’s super exciting to see all these great additions to the cast – and all the talents they will bring.
The True Detective: Night Country Trailer
If you’re excited about True Detective: Night Country, then you have to check out the trailer that was released in December 2023. It features our two stars, Jodie Foster and Kalie Reis, in the Alaskan wilderness, and gives us the first look into the kind of murder case that we will be following – a scientist found frozen solid in the middle of nowhere, and how it might be connected to a case from years ago.
True Detective: Night Country Will Take Place In Alaska And Follow A Disappearance
The first three seasons of True Detective hopped around all over the country. The first was in Louisiana, the second in California, and the third in Arkansas. But now, in Season 4, we are going very far north – all the way up to Alaska. Here's HBO's official logline for the season:
When the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska, the eight men who operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace. To solve the case, Detectives Liz Danvers (Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Reis) will have to confront the darkness they carry in themselves, and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice.
Out of everywhere in the world for True Detective to take place, a part of me is so happy it’s in Alaska, because that’s going to be so creepy – Alaska is beautiful, but also so sparsely populated, which makes it the best setting for a mystery show – where could they have gone? I’m so excited.
Issa Lopez Is Serving As The Showrunner
According to the Deadline article above regarding the announcement of Season 4, Issa Lopez is set to act as showrunner for the fourth season – as well as write, direct, and produce. The Mexican producer has worked on many international shows and movies, with one of her most famous being Tigers Are Not Afraid, but this will be her first time diving into the American TV industry, and I can’t wait to see what she does.
The showrunner actually commented on her new season in an interview with Vanity Fair in November 2023, saying that her season aims to be the opposite of what the last seasons of True Detective have been about:
Where True Detective is male and it’s sweaty, Night Country is cold and it’s dark and it’s female.
As someone who is a fan of several of these actresses – especially Jodie Foster – sign me up.
The Series Wrapped Filming In Iceland In April 2023
There are so many cases of movies and television shows that say they are taking place in one setting and are actually filmed completely somewhere else.
And True Detective is like that as well. While the setting is Alaska, it’s been reported by the Iceland Review that the series filmed there, originally saying that it would take place over a “nine-month period.”
Then, in April 2023, Mari Jo Winkler, one of the executive producers of True Detective: Night Country, posted to her Instagram to share that filming had ended, giving praise to the cast and crew of the new season:
Is anyone else as excited as I am, or is it just me?
What are you the most excited for with this show? I am literally counting down the days until this show premieres because I need more mystery in my life. True Detective: Night Country can’t come soon enough.
