HBO's cult crime favorite "True Detective" has been renewed for a fifth season, with Issa López to return as the showrunner under a new overall deal. López helmed the fourth season, "True Detective: Night Country," ushering the series into its most-watched installment. Variety reported that the anthology's season finale saw more than 3.2 million viewers across HBO and Max, demonstrating a nearly 60% increase in viewership since the season premiere in January.
"Night Country" saw Jodie Foster and Kali Reis in the lead detective roles, a deviation from the series' first three seasons that featured male leads, and a focus on an indigenous Alaskan community. Series creator Nic Pizzolatto has been vocal about his disapproval of López's take on "True Detective," expressing negative sentiment in several Instagram replies and reposts, despite still reaping financial benefits from his continued executive producer credit. In response to Pizzolatto's criticisms, López graciously told Vulture, “I believe that every storyteller has a very specific, peculiar, and unique relation to the stories they create, and whatever his reactions are, he’s entitled to them. That’s his prerogative.”
