TV

True Detective gets renewed for season 5, despite criticism of Night Country shared by show creator

There will be another season as current showrunner Issa López gets an overall deal with HBO.

Published on February 22, 2024 05:19PM EST

There are more mysteries to be solved. True Detective will return for season 5 as part of an overall deal with current showrunner Issa López signed with HBO.

The newest installment, True Detective: Night Country, was the show's most-watched season yet, with 12.7 million viewers across platforms, the network announced on Thursday. The announcement comes just days after the show's creator and former showrunner, Nic Pizzolatto, publicly criticized the latest season on social media.

While López will again be running the show, no details have been released about whether it will continue the story of Night Country, which starred Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, or if the next season will feature new leads and a new story.

Kali Reis, Jodie Foster in True Detective: Night Country Season 4 - Episode 6 — Kali Reis and Jodie Foster in 'True Detective: Night Country'.
Michele K. Short/HBO

“From conception to release, Night Country has been the most beautiful collaboration and adventure of my entire creative life," López said. "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.”

The show's devastating finale drew praise from fans as well as slights from Pizzolatto, who has said he wasn't involved in the new season despite having an executive producer credit. He took to Instagram to criticize the show in now-deleted posts, sharing fan messages that called Night Country a "hot mess," among other denunciations. In a separate, and also deleted, post, he told fans that they "can't blame me" for the finale because he "did not have any input on this story or anything else."

Reis fired back on X, writing, "That’s a damn shame…but hey I guess 'if you don’t have anything good to share, shit on others' is the new wave."

On Wednesday, Pizzolatto posted about the show again, this time on his Instagram Grid. He called it the "TRUE DETECTIVE AGGREGATE POST," which he wrote was a "place for all your trolling/support/infighting around True Detective and the absolute moral degeneracy and misogyny of anyone who did not think it was good."

In HBO's announcement, Francesca Orsi, EVP, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films, had kinder things to say about the new season and its showrunner. “Issa López is that one-of-a-kind, rare talent that speaks directly to HBO’s creative spirit," she said. "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.”

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