TV

'So Stupid': True Detective Creator Doesn't Hold Back on Season 4 Criticism

'So Stupid': True Detective Creator Doesn't Hold Back on Season 4 Criticism
Image credit: HBO

Night Country is the biggest hit on TV at the moment, but apparently not in the opinion of the creator of the show.

Summary:

  • • The new season of True Detective, Night Сountry, has divided fans, with some excited about the new story and others skeptical, with show creator Nic Pizzolatto falling into the latter camp.
  • • In now-deleted comments on Instagram, Nic called the references to the first season of Night Country "so stupid" and stressed that he had nothing to do with the new story.
  • • At the same time, according to the Rotten Tomatoes critics' scores, the new season even outperformed the first by 1%, while completely changing the concept of the show.

The first season of True Detective, one of the brightest gems of modern television, drove many viewers and critics crazy as it took them through the hopeless swamps of Louisiana and the existential musings of Rust Cohle.

The new season, Night Country, saw a change in showrunner from Nic Pizzolatto to Issa Lopez, dividing fans into two camps.

The first half of the viewers think that the fourth season is as good as the first and maybe even better, and the second half does not accept the new story, which is so radically different from the concept of the first season (although it makes very clear references to it).

Night Country Harshly Criticized by Nic Pizzolatto

True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto seems to fall into the latter camp. In the now-deleted Instagram posts, Pizzolatto commented on plot points in Night Country, specifically calling the connections to the first season "so stupid."

The comments were subsequently deleted, but Reddit user Magehunter_Skassi screened them and posted to Reddit. One of the comment says:

“I certainly did not have any input on this story or anything else. Can’t blame me.”

New Season Turns the Show Inside Out

Despite obvious references to the first season in the form of spirals and Rust Cohle's supposed father, Night Country reimagines the show's canon.

Issa Lopez seems to turn the first season inside out: now two women are investigating occult murders of men in the outback, not the other way around. Previously, True Detective's main characters were mostly men, and quite masculine ones.

The new season changes the optics – female characters are also battling inner demons, but different ones: unwanted motherhood or the fear of appearing weak in a patriarchal society.

Night Country Surpasses Season 1 in Ratings

In terms of ratings, Night Country even surpassed the first season, which became a true TV phenomenon in 2014 and remains so to this day. The gap in critics' scores on Rotten Tomatoes, while small (only 1%), is impressive because the first season with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson is absolutely unique.

So far, Night Country has gotten off to a promising start, but it's the references to the first season that raise the biggest questions (and it’s probably what angered Pizzolatto the most). In many ways, the quality of the new season will be determined by how those references are ultimately revealed.

Because if you're going to tie your story to one of the most prominent projects on TV in recent years, you have to at least live up to that level.

Source: Reddit