Though True Detective: Night Country is set to debut on January 14, the reviews for the latest season of HBO‘s beloved mystery series are already out. For the most part, critics are quite impressed with this latest installment.
True Detective: Night Country stars Jodie Foster and Kali Reis as Detectives Liz Danvers and Evangeline Navarro, respectively. Issa López serves as showrunner, writer and director.
As of January 2, the series has debuted with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though this could change as further reviews are added. This consensus follows Season 1’s 91%, Season 2’s 47%, and Season 3’s 84%.
Rolling Stone‘s Alan Sepinwall described the latest season as “an intense, often graphically violent season, but not an oppressively dour one.” He also praised the chemistry between the series’ leads, Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, and concluded by saying Season 4 has “established itself as its own thrilling, nightmarish, riveting thing.”
Collider‘s Carly Lane felt positively about the series’ eerie visuals and focus on Indigenous characters throughout the story, though wished that the series was a bit longer than its total six episodes, giving Night Country a 9/10.
On the other hand, The Hollywood Reporter‘s Daniel Fienberg notes that, despite being gripping, the new season sometimes lacks “freshness or depth” and features male characters who are primarily “left in a bland secondary capacity.” That being said, Fienberg did say that the ending of Night Country worked for him “conceptually,” while other True Detective endings were typically less satisfying.
What is True Detective: Night Country about?
“When the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska, the eight men who operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace,” reads the new season’s synopsis. “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.”
