‘True Detective’ Fans Applaud Mexican Director Issa López As Past Creator Allegedly Disses Season 4
“True Detective: Night Country” just aired its season finale on HBO, and we’re still feeling shook about the Alaska-set crime drama. Mexican director Issa López co-wrote and directed this fourth season of “True Detective,” which came out to rave critical reviews. Even more, “Night Country” garnered the highest Rotten Tomatoes score since the show’s first season, and its highest-ever viewership. Strangely enough, though, the show’s original creator Nic Pizzolatto seems to be dissing López about it.
López called writing and filming “True Detective: Night Country” a collaboration with “beautiful geniuses.” She told Vulture, “It’s done with the idea of sitting down around the fire, and [let’s] have some fun and have some feelings and have some thoughts.” Interestingly, while López told A.V. Club that “Night Country” included some “love letters” to past seasons, she also views her creation as worlds apart from past creator Pizzolatto’s vision.
As per Decider, López recently told reporters that season four was meant to be a “dark mirror” to season one. “‘True Detective’ is male and it’s sweaty. Night Country is cold and dark and female,” she explained. “It would be easier to remind us of what we loved about that show by doing the absolute opposite.”
The Mexican director made a “True Detective” season that put women in the forefront— particularly by casting Jodie Foster and Kali Reis as the main detectives. Now, amid Pizzolatto’s “harsh responses” to season four, some wonder if he is being a “sore loser.”
Here’s what Pizzolatto said about “True Detective” season four— and how López responded
As reported by Vanity Fair, “True Detective” O.G. creator Pizzolatto started dissing the show’s fourth season ever since it premiered on January 14. While the screenwriter took part in seasons one through three, he was very adamant about clarifying his lack of involvement in season four.
For one, Pizzolatto allegedly changed his Instagram biography at one point to: “True Detective S1-3 (NOT Night Country).” Even more, Reddit users posted screenshots of some of Pizzolatto’s questionable Instagram comments about season four. One reportedly read, “I certainly did not have any input on [season four’s] story or anything else. Can’t blame me.” As per Vanity Fair, he also wrote that one aspect of the latest season was “so stupid.”
Last month, López spoke to Vulture about Pizzolatto’s social media behavior, and his possible diss. “I believe that every storyteller has a very specific, peculiar, and unique relation to the stories they create,” she described. “Whatever his reactions are, he’s entitled to them. That’s his prerogative.”
López added, ““I wrote this with profound love for the work he made and love for the people that loved it.” The director also called it a “reinvention” of the classic “True Detective” fans know.
At the time, López allegedly called out “bros and hardcore fanboys” who gave “True Detective: Night Country” bad reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. As per Variety, López wrote in a since-deleted tweet: “The bros and hardcore fanboys of [Season 1] have made it a mission to drag the rating down, and it’s kind of sad, considering all the 5 star ones.”
While outlets like NPR continued to praise the show’s latest season— and viewership kept mounting— Pizzolatto may have dissed López again. As shown in screenshots of the “True Detective” creator’s IG Stories, he reposted several “bad reviews for season four.”
One reposted review read that the season four dialogue was “butchered and misappropriated,” and had the “sloppiest writing.” The viewer also wrote, “So insulting calling it ‘True Detective’ and beyond disrespectful.” Another reposted review said the season was a “hot mess.” In short, Pizzolatto seemed to state his opinions… without actually stating his opinions.
To that, many viewers are commenting on how “Night Country” is “the most-watched season of the show ever”:
Others? Well, they’re saying that Pizzolatto is acting like “an absolutely enormous baby”:
No matter your opinion on the subject, one thing seems to be clear: as per IMDb, Pizzolatto is still in the credits as a season four producer. To that fact, one X user wrote, “If I was [a] creator of a TV series that I was now only getting money from it by the executive producer clause… I would simply shut the hell up.”
What do you think about this “True Detective: Night Country” chisme?