Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton
Week of February 19, 2024
True Detective: Night Country
Rated TV-MA
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%
Streaming on MAX
After the spectacular season one of True Detective on HBO, seasons two and three came and went with a thud. Quite honestly, I’m surprised a fourth season was even greenlit, but I’m so glad it was. Moving up to the desolate world of interior Alaska in the dead of winter, Jodi Foster and newcomer Kali Reis play two cops who risk life and limb to investigate a gruesome crime when a group of scientists is found frozen, naked in the ice, with looks of absolute terror on their faces. Much of the six-episode series is pure horror, harkening back to Foster’s greatest film, The Silence of the Lambs. Even Hannibal’s quid pro quo line is gently reused here to both pay homage and remind us of the horrors the world has to offer. The show does a phenomenal job of making you question if this is a job for detectives or priests, as the supernatural is ever-present, and incredibly scary to boot. There is so much to take in and appreciate here that I can’t help but think that this one will be taking home some major hardware come awards season next year. Obviously, Foster is great in everything she does, and this is no different, but the supporting cast, many of them whom are indignant actors, impress just as much. But what really stands out is the terrific writing from Issa Lopez, which manages to frighten as much as it fascinates, with just enough clues thrown out to keep you binging, which you can now do since the show ended this past week. Stop in the middle and you will lose sleep. Then again, you’ll lose a little if you bear through it to the end also. There’s some dark stuff here that will be hard to unsee, but the show once again puts HBO on top of the crime drama game. A