True Detective: Night Country Release Date, Cast, Plot, Trailer And More Details

Created by Nic Pizzolatto, "True Detective" blew critics and audiences away when it hit HBO back in 2014. We were introduced to the darker side of backwoods Louisiana, a region haunted by creepy stick figures, nihilistic cops, and monstrous killers. But instead of turning into a serialized show, "True Detective" became an anthology, with Season 2 taking us into the seedy side of California and Season 3 exploring tragedy and time in the Ozarks.

We haven't been back to the grim world of "True Detective" in several years, but as one bitter, beer-guzzling cop once put it, time is a flat circle — everything we've ever done, we're going to do over and over again. And in this case, that's a good thing because we're getting a fourth season of "True Detective," this one with the subtitle of "Night Country." If you want to learn more about the brutal anthology series, read on for everything we know about "True Detective" Season 4.

The last time we saw "True Detective," it was back in February 2019. That was before "Avengers: Endgame" hit theaters, before the last presidential election, and before the COVID-19 pandemic. In other words, it's been a long, long time since this twisty series last aired on HBO. However, now we know exactly when we'll return to the world of depressed law enforcement officers and seemingly unsolvable crimes.

"True Detective: Night Country" will premiere on January 14, 2024, releasing on both HBO and Max at 9 PM ET/PT. The season will run for six episodes, and we know it'll be a frosty series. The production filmed in Iceland, with the European landscape doubling for Alaska. In fact, back in November 2022, HBO shared a page of the first episode's script that reads, "A pale sun falters and dies over the endless ice plain, the final sliver shrinking fast. That's the last of the sun this part of the world will see in a month."

Talk about ominous. Expect to see the frosty detective work play out on January 14.

While each season of "True Detective" features new actors and takes place in a different locale, they all revolve around a group of broken, beaten detectives trying to solve a crime — a crime that takes them places they never wanted to go.

In Season 1, two detectives try to stop a serial killer while finding themselves deeper and deeper in an abyss of conspiracy and grief. In Season 2, four characters from different walks of life — a dishonest detective, a crooked businessman, a CID agent/abuse survivor, and patrolman suffering from PTSD — investigate the death of a corrupt city manager. And in Season 3, we watch three different timelines, as a detective investigates and reflects on the disappearance of two children.

So what does Season 4 have in store? The official plot description reads, "When the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska, the six men that operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace. To solve the case, Detectives Liz Danvers and Evangeline Navarro will have to confront the darkness they carry in themselves and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice."

Each season of "True Detective" has boasted A-list talent, from Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson to Colin Farrell and Rachel McAdams to Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff. And Season 4 features an equally talented slate of award-winning actors working alongside a talented bunch of new stars.

Detective Liz Danvers and Detective Evangeline Navarro are the main characters of "True Detective: Night Country," and they'll be played, respectively, by two-time Oscar-winner Jodie Foster and boxer/actor/activist Kali Reis. They'll be joined by quite a few familiar faces, with Christopher Eccleston ("Doctor Who") playing the town's chief of police and John Hawkes ("Deadwood") starring as a cop with some serious grudges. 

We can also expect to see Fiona Shaw ("Andor"), Finn Bennett ("The Nevers"), Anna Lambe ("The Grizzlies"), Isabella Star Lablanc ("Long Slow Exhale"), Joel D. Montgrand ("Legends of Tomorrow"), June Thiele ("Dreaming Grand Avenue"), Diane Benson ("Take It Easy"), and writer/activist Aka Niviâna.

"True Detective" was the brainchild of Nic Pizzolatto, who skyrocketed to fame after the show's first season (and came back down a bit after the second). However, "Night Country" will be the first season of the show without Pizzolatto's direct creative involvement. So who will be guiding Season 4 through the icy terrain of Ennis, Alaska?

Showrunning duties have gone to Issa López, a filmmaker who's been directing for years but who finally caught Hollywood's attention with 2017's fantasy-horror film "Tigers Are Not Afraid." (Seriously, if you haven't seen it yet, go check it out as soon as possible.) Now, she'll be writing, directing, and executive producing. Based on the strength of the haunting yet beautiful "Tigers," we feel pretty safe in saying that "Night Country" is in good hands.

There's some pretty serious talent involved in "True Detective" Season 4, from star Jodie Foster to showrunner Issa López. That's also true for the show's producers, which includes Foster and López. In addition to those notable names, you'll also recognize "True Detective" alumni such as Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, series creator Nic Pizzolatto, and Season 1 director Cary Joji Fukunaga as executive producers.

Among the impressive line-up of producing talent, you'll also likely know executive producer Barry Jenkins. A filmmaker who can direct both blockbusters and indie dramas, Jenkins is most famous for helming the best picture-winning "Moonlight," along with "If Beale Street Could Talk." He's been tapped to direct the upcoming prequel to Disney's 2019 "The Lion King," and he's also done some seriously great TV work as the showrunner of Amazon's "The Underground Railroad." 

Most importantly, among the many producers, Variety reports that there's also Princess Daazhraii Johnson and Cathy Tagnak Rexford, both of whom are leaders of an Iñupiaq advisory council. Their unique perspective will definitely lend credibility and sensitivity to the show's depiction of the Native Alaskan characters showing up in Season 4.

The first official teaser for "True Detective" plunges us into a town of ice and darkness, where 40 men have gone missing in Alaska right before the so-called "long night" begins. We watch as Detective Liz Danvers and Detective Evangeline Navarro dig into the very cold case while dealing with some personal issues that threaten to divide the duo. In the second teaser trailer for Season 4, the weirdness gets turned up a few notches. Our protagonists find five human bodies "all frozen into a giant block of flesh," and we see a ton of spiral imagery — not so coincidentally resembling the spirals from "True Detective" Season 1.

After those two teases, HBO dropped the official trailer for Season 4 in December 2023. Here, we get a little glimpse at the case that drove a wedge between Danvers and Navarro, where they failed to save a woman before she was murdered. Now, these two would rather be anywhere than the same office together, but they both seem to know there's more to this case than meets the eye and that they'll need each other to figure out what happened in the snow. The trailer shows us quick shots of a protest turned violent, a zombie-like woman, and Jodie Foster sinking into the icy depth, and we can't wait to see all the freezing cold horror play out on January 14, 2024.

For the most part, each season of "True Detective" has stood on its own — disconnected from one other. Granted, there was a quick reference to Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson's characters in Season 3, but other than that, the seasons work as standalone installments. However, that might not be the case with Season 4, as showrunner Issa López has indicated there will be some "True Detective" references in the upcoming episodes.

Speaking at an HBO press event, the showrunner said, "There are Easter eggs throughout that you will find, and there's a big, big thing in Episode 6 that you will discover in time. It is its own story, but it's still connected." López then mentioned the infamous spiral that shows up in Season 1, which is prominent in the Season 4 promotional materials, and she also said we should keep an eye out for "the way that there are those dark and ancient gods (perhaps yes, perhaps not) working behind the scenes. It is the same universe."

However, López did say Season 4 will stand apart from previous installments in a pretty big way — time. Instead of playing with structure, Season 4 will be told in a linear fashion, without jumping between the past, present, and future.

"True Detective" is an anthology show. Each season focuses on different crimes and different characters, with new actors appearing each time. However, it does seem there will be some connections between Season 4 and the rest of the show, so perhaps you should check out what's come before. Even if a new season wasn't coming out, it would be totally worth your time. After all, Season 1 is widely considered a true TV great, Season 2 isn't exactly beloved but has its defenders, and Season 3 is a fascinating and compelling piece of TV.

If you want to plunge deep into a world of corruption, killers, and crooked establishments, you can find all three seasons of "True Detective" on Max. You can also find all three seasons to rent by the episode or purchase in their entirety on sites like Amazon Video and Apple iTunes.