Fine, I’ll Watch ‘True Detective: Night Country’

Max is on an absolute tear with new teasers and sneak peeks at upcoming series, including True Detective: Night Country. Following a brief delay, the platform has dropped a new trailer for the fourth season of the on-again/off-again mystery series, and just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in with Jodie Foster.

In addition to dropping a new sneak peek at House of the Dragon season 2 over the weekend, Max has revealed a full trailer for True Detective: Night Country:

The latest installment of True Detective is set in Alaska during the dark winter months, which lends a stark atmosphere to the proceedings and gives this season’s cinematography an instant edge over its predecessors. It’s giving Fargo. It’s giving Insomnia. It looks good as hell. And we’ll be able to watch True Detective: Night Country next month, when it premieres January 14 on Max.

Per HBO’s official logline for Night Country:

When the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska, the eight men who operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace. 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.

The story and setting—two women detectives investigate the disappearance of eight men in remote Alaska—provide fertile ground for exploring themes of race and the Indigenous experience.

The biggest draw for season 4—and the reason why it feels more considered than past iterations—is Issa López, who serves as showrunner, writer, director, and executive producer. López is a Mexican filmmaker best known for writing and directing the 2017 horror film Tigers Are Not Afraid, and is currently developing projects with Guillermo del Toro and Blumhouse. Moonlight director Barry Jenkins is also an executive producer on the new season of True Detective.

Jodie Foster looks like she was built for life as a hardened detective in Alaska, but she’s hardly the most intriguing part of the first teaser. I love Kali Reis’ dimple piercings, which add a subtle dimension to the gritty, working class realism. If I’m being honest, the moment I saw Reis’ face is the moment when I was like, okay HBO, you got me. FINE. I’ll watch.

Joining Jodie Foster’s Detective Liz Danvers and Kali Reis’ Evangeline Navarro are Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve), Finn Bennett, Isabella Star Lablanc, Aka Niviâna, Anna Lambe, and Joel D. Montgrand. The season also features not one, but two incredible character actors: Christopher Eccleston and John Hawkes.

(featured image: Max)