It’s murder season again, and, wouldn’t you know it, there’s another duo of detectives who don’t get on who need to work together to solve the case.
It’s a tried and tested format that just seems to work, especially in the case of True Detective, which has excelled in this genre since way back in 2014, when the first season featuring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey made the anthology series become must-see TV.
Two more seasons followed, with Vince Vaughn and Rachel McAdams following up in the California-based sequel; and with Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff as the crime-busting duo in the Ozarks for the threequel. While they did not make quite the same splash as the first, the follow-ups had their merits.
On to the long-awaited series four, officially named True Detective: Night Country, featuring Jodie Foster and Kali Reis as the first female–fronted detective team in the franchise - and the trailer has dropped. Here’s everything else we know so far.
What’s the big idea?
As per the previous series, there’s a bunch of murders that need solving and this time it’s up to Foster, who plays Detective Liz Danzers and Reis, who stars as Detective Evangeline Navarro, to step up.
It looks like it might be the most extreme of all the franchise so far, not least because it’s set in the wild expanse of Alaska at a point in the year where most of the day is shrouded in darkness.
As for the crime? Well, Danzers and Navarro - who, yes, appear to hate each other at the start - will be investigating the disappearances of six men from the Tsalal Arctic Research Station in Ennis, Alaska.
The trailer shows that their disappearance is supposed to be because the team were observing a “weather event” but after a gaggle of abandoned boots are found out in the cold dark snow outside, one character points out: “How scared do you have to be to run out in the ice without any shoes?” We now have a murder case on our hands, people.
The official synopsis goes deeper, saying the two women “must confront their pasts and the dark truths lying underneath the Arctic ice”. Chilling, indeed.
Who else is starring in it?
Look out for the familiar faces of Deadwood‘s John Hawkes who plays policeman-with-a-grudge Hank Prior, Doctor Who‘s Christopher Eccleston playing Ted Corsaro, a regional head of police and Killing Eve’s Fiona Shaw as Rose Aguineau, an intriguing survivalist.
Additionally, Finn Bennett, Anna Lambe, Aka Niviâna, Isabella Star Lablanc, and Joel D. Montgrand are all set to appear.
Issa López is the showrunner on this outing, and she’s joined by the inimitable talents of Moonlight’s Barry Jenkins as one of the executive producers, alongside Foster and the original creator Nic Pizzolatto.
When’s it due out?
Later in 2023 is all we’ve been told so far, but don’t worry, we’re on the case to uncover more.
