True Detective Night Country review: Jodie Foster stars in best season since the first

Season 4 of True Detective – subtitled Night Country – is a diabolical detective drama that thrusts Jodie Foster into a waking nightmare. It combines stark social commentary with inexplicable horror and a spellbinding central mystery.

There have been highs and lows across the first three seasons of True Detective. The brainchild of Nic Pizzolatto, Season 1 was inspired storytelling that challenged audiences at every turn. Season 2 had moments of inspiration, but was largely a miscast mess. Season 3 told a quietly compelling story that managed to steady the ship, making for an uneven TV trilogy.

It’s all change for Season 4 of the crime drama. Tigers Are Not Afraid helmer Issa López takes the showrunning reigns this time out, directing all six episodes, and writing or co-writing each installment. And a show that previously focussed on men is given a decidedly feminist spin, this time revolving around women detectives Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis).

The case these mismatched cops investigate forces them to confront their own demons – but a far larger tale is being told. One that tackles big issues and heavy themes, but kicks off with a head-scratching puzzle.

What is True Detective Night Country about?

The setting is Ennis, 150 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The location is the Tsalal Research Station, where a team of scientists are searching for the origins of life, which is a fairly lofty ambition.

Based on the outskirts of this isolated community, they’ve been digging for years, though the specifics of their work remain a mystery to the locals. Then one day – at the start of proceedings – the men vanish, simply disappearing.

Danvers explores the supposed scene of the crime, finding clues at the compound that only deepen the mystery. This is further complicated by the fact that the case kicks off on December 17, when day disappears, and the town is plunged into ongoing night until the New Year.

The men are soon found in the snow – frozen, naked, and very much dead. Forming what one character calls a “corpiscle,” their clothes are neatly folded next to their bodies, while terror is etched on their faces.

This should be a solo investigation for Danvers, but it quickly becomes clear that the Tsalal men are somehow connected to the murder of a local Native American – a case that has haunted Navarro due to its brutality. And driven a wedge between the two officers, turning former friends into enemies, and providing some serious conflict when they re-team to connect the dots.

Telling multiple stories on a broad canvas

Those are the twin crimes at the center of Season 4. But Night Country is much more than that, with Ennis a broad canvas on which to tell multiple stories. The impressive world-building truly brings the town to life; its troubled inhabitants and seriously dysfunctional families provide intrigue and drama everywhere you look.

John Hawkes is terrific as a cop and father who is filled with guilt and self-loathing. Christopher Eccleston is equally good as a more senior officer, whose political ambitions threaten to destroy his morals. Fiona Shaw is superb as an eccentric local who may or may not communicate with the dead.

So much like Season 1 – to which there are many nods – something strange and potentially supernatural seems to be lurking beneath the surface of Night Country. Navarro sees and believes, those forces driving her forward. While Danvers doubts and derides, the character constantly searching for some rational explanation. Indeed, the tension between their contradictory belief systems makes for some of Season 4’s most electric scenes.

And this dynamic duo is played to perfection. Channelling Clarice – but with a harder edge – Jodie Foster skilfully peels away Danvers’ layers, until our hero is little more than a raw nerve. Kali Reis gives as good as she gets, with Navarro both the soul and beating heart of the series.

Is True Detective Season 4 good?

True Detective Night Country is a show about issues like sexism, racism, domestic abuse, and the environment. While it also explores heavy themes, to do with identity, spirituality, mysticism, loneliness, and ultimately life and death.

Yet for all that gravity, it’s also a blast; a perfectly spun yarn, with well-timed twists and turns, building to a devastating denouement. López made her name in horror, and her love of genre is all over Night Country, with The Thing referenced, and Frankenstein looming large over proceedings. Twin Peaks is also clearly an influence, via both the setting and the show’s jet-black humor.

And while the lead-up doesn’t quite reach the dizzy heights of True Detective’s first outing, the climax is far superior, with Lopez tying the disparate plots together for a finale that’s haunting, challenging, and incredibly cathartic.

True Detective Night Country Score: 5/5

A story so dark shouldn’t be this much fun, but Night Country is a cracking whodunnit that will keep you guessing until the final few reels. It’s also the best True Detective since Season 1.

True Detective Night Country debuts on HBO this Sunday, January 14 in the US, where it will also be available to stream on Max. In the UK, Season 4 premieres Monday, January 15 on Sky Atlantic, and streaming service NOW.