- HBO has renewed "True Detective" for a fifth season with showrunner Issa López at the helm.
- Season four, titled "Night Country," was the show's most-watched season.
- Here's what we know about the season five cast and plot, and the drama with creator Nic Pizzolatto.
On Sunday, the fourth season of "True Detective," subtitled "Night Country," came to a close, putting an ambiguous pin in the show's many mysteries.
Now, less than a week after the conclusion of season four, "True Detective" has been renewed for a fifth season at HBO — once again with showrunner Issa López at the helm. "Night Country" was López's first season of "True Detective," as well as the first season of the show not helmed by creator Nic Pizzolatto. López, Vulture reported, was personally invited by HBO head of drama Francesca Orsi to pitch a season of the show, and she'll work on the new season as part of a new overall deal with HBO, per Variety.
According to Deadline, "Night Country" was the most-watched season of the show, citing HBO's numbers that 3.2 million viewers had watched the finale on Sunday. That hasn't stopped Pizzolatto from seemingly lashing out on social media, reposting criticisms of the season's finale to Instagram, Variety reported.
Here's everything that we know about "True Detective" season five.
What's the plot of 'True Detective' season 5?
Right now, it's much too early to tell. While season four contained numerous easter eggs and references to the show's first season, "True Detective" is an anthology series.
That nature would suggest that we won't be seeing "Night Country" part two and that season five will feature an entirely new story. You probably shouldn't bet on seeing anything else out of Ennis, Alaska.
López told The Hollywood Reporter that her cast was lobbying her to consider returning to "Night Country" for another season. While she said it was "beautiful" to hear that her cast wanted to return to their characters, she ultimately thought that it would be doing them a disservice.
"It's very tempting," López said. "But I do feel that the characters grew. It's a lot more boring to do drama about grown people than people that need growth. So I don't think I'll do it."
HBO and López haven't announced any further details about the plot of the new season — so stay tuned.
Who's in the cast of 'True Detective' season 5?
Once again, it's a toss-up. We don't have any details on the cast at this point in time, but you can probably expect a batch of fresh faces.
When will 'True Detective' season 5 come out?
Given that the show was only renewed in February, it'll probably be a while. HBO has yet to announce a release date or window for season five.
What was going on with Nic Pizzolatto?
Pizzolatto, the creator of the "True Detective" franchise, is listed as an executive producer on season four. However, he's gone to lengths to distance himself from the production, and his instagram bio currently reads "True Detective S1-3."
According to Vanity Fair, shortly after the "Night Country" premiere, that bio read "True Detective S1-3 (NOT Night Country)." And in the wake of the finale, Pizzolatto was reposting criticism of "Night Country" to his Instagram story. On Monday, he published a long-winded Instagram post on his main feed, stating that it was meant to be a dumping ground for people's grievances about the new season.
"TRUE DETECTIVE AGGREGATE POST — this here is the 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. Let's move these screeds off my posts about my wife, true love, and my father's death, kay?" Pizzolatto wrote in the post.
Pizzolatto said in the post that he was capping the number of comments at 1350. Currently, the post doesn't display any comments, which are locked.
López previously responded to Pizzolatto's comments about the show in an interview with Vulture, published prior to the season's conclusion.
"I believe that every storyteller has a very specific, peculiar, and unique relation to the stories they create, and whatever his reactions are, he's entitled to them. That's his prerogative," López said, adding that she created the new season with "profound love" for Pizzolatto's work on the franchise.
"Night Country" star Kali Reis, who played Evangeline Navarro, responded to Pizzolatto's apparent disdain for the new season on X.
"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," she wrote. "lol."
Was 'Night Country' good?
I mean, I'm just one critic, but I think so. The ambiguity of the finale really worked for me!
But if you want to check in with other critics, the series currently has a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 59% audience score.