HBO’s ‘True Detective’ to Return for 4th Season (But You’ll Never Guess Who the Detectives Are)

True Detective has had its ups and downs. We can confidently say that the first season tops all the subsequent ones, what with the impeccable pairing of Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey (in a career-defining performance). The second season flopped with a too large, ho-hum cast. The third season was a return to form, with Mahershala Ali leading a grim storyline. And now, we’ve just learned that the HBO drama is returning for a fourth installment – but you’ll never guess who the new detectives are.

That’s because the streamer just confirmed that True Detective: Night Country will star Jodi Foster and Kali Reis.

“Who?” you’re undoubtedly asking. Well, if you’re under 40, you won’t know the name Jodi Foster. Those who are over the hill will recall her as a leading lady of the ‘80s and early ‘90s, particularly as Clarice in Silence of the Lambs, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Kali Reis is a world-champion boxer…and a motivational speaker…and an actress? Maybe this is the new-age definition of a triple threat. She starred in the 2021 sex trafficking revenge thriller called Catch The Fair One that you probably didn’t (and won’t) see because…why would you?

Photos: Getty Images

But back to True Detective Season 4. Here’s the premise, per HBO:

“When the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska, the six men that operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace. To solve the case, Detectives Liz Danvers (Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Reis) will have to confront the darkness they carry in themselves, and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice.”

So Old Man Winter has a starring role, too. Huh. We guess we’ve seen this show set in several sweaty places now, so why not change it up?

There will never be an odd couple as compelling on the small screen as Harrelson and McConaughey (or a creepier storyline; we’re still shook over the season finale) but we suppose we’ll tune in to see what these tough-as-nails detectives can do. It can’t possibly be as bad as Season 2, right?

Cover Photo: HBO