Foster also revealed how her “love” for the anthology format was brought out when directing an episode of Black Mirror.
Five years after its last season aired, True Detective is back, with this fresh outing not only featuring a whole new cast and story, as previous seasons have, but also a new showrunner at the reins.
Issa López serves as writer, director and showrunner on the latest run, subtitled Night Country, which stars Jodie Foster and Kali Reis as detectives investigating after eight men disappear from a research centre in Alaska.
Foster recently spoke with RadioTimes.com and other press about the new season, and explained how it differed from past outings.
She said: “They’re all different; it’s an anthology. So the previous season, season 3 in the Ozarks with Mahershala Ali, is a wonderful season, but just very different.
“We went back to the ancients. There’s something about the supernatural element of the ancients, and some connection to destiny into an old world, supernatural presence, that I think is really powerful. So I think that is a big shift.”
Foster continued: “And the maternal, the female voice is very different than that season. But they’re all different. I think that’s the beauty of it, is that they’re all different.”
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Foster also explained her “love” for the anthology format, referencing her time directing the Arkangel episode of Black Mirror season 4.
She said: “I love anthology. I directed a Black Mirror, and it was one of the best experiences that I’ve had on streaming – to be able to have a brand new cast, a brand new crew, brand new story, and to be given all the freedom to interpret it the way that I wanted to, without having to necessarily refer to all of the other Black Mirrors.
“That’s a real gift for a filmmaker, and I think it helps you to a much more creative path.”
López recently explained her decision to include potentially supernatural elements in this fourth season, following up on hints towards such in the first run of the show.
She told AV Club: “One of the things I loved the most about the first True Detective is that it had that supernatural flavour — it had that Carcosa; it had a Yellow King. So when HBO approached me, I said, ‘Guys, me being who I am, I’m going to tap into that and go for it.’
“So, you can watch the whole show and come out of it very much like True Detective the original, thinking that everything has a rational explanation.
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“Perhaps Cohle fried his brain with drugs or perhaps birds really were drawing spirals in the sky? Perhaps he really saw Carcosa at the end?
“So, this is the same — there is a path here where you can go, ‘Every single event has a natural explanation,’ or there’s more than what we can see at stake. And I love that liminal space.”
True Detective: Night Country premiered on Sky Atlantic and NOW on Monday 15th January 2024. Check out Sky deals here. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.
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