True Detective Star Jodie Foster Calls Gen Z “Really Annoying” in the Workplace

True Detective: Night Country star Jodie Foster isn’t a fan of Gen Z. Speaking with The Guardian (via EW), Foster said that she finds Gen Zers can be “really annoying” in the workplace, though she also spoke about reaching out to young actresses to help them navigate the industry.

“They’re like, ‘Nah, I’m not feeling it today. I’m gonna come in at 10:30 a.m.,” Foster said of Gen Z. “Or, like in emails, I’ll tell them this is all grammatically incorrect, did you not check your spelling? And they’re like, ‘Why would I do that, isn’t that kind of limiting?’”

Gen Z generally refers to the group of people born between the late 1990s and early 2000s, a time period that includes a lot of up-and-coming actors in Hollywood. Foster further explained that, even though Gen Z has some “annoying” aspects, she also makes an effort to mentor them because of her own experiences growing up in the industry.

“I do a lot of reaching out to young actresses,” she said. “I’m compelled. Because it was hard growing up.”

“They need to learn how to relax, how to not think about it so much, how to come up with something that’s theirs,” Foster said. “I can help them find that, which is so much more fun than being, with all the pressure behind it, the protagonist of the story.”

What Is True Detective: Night Country About?

Foster next appears in True Detective: Night Country, which is set to debut on HBO on January 14th. The new season is described, “When the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska, the eight men who operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace. To solve the case, detectives Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) must confront their pasts and the dark truths lying underneath the Arctic ice.”

In addition to Foster and Ries, the season stars Finn Bennett, Fiona Shaw, Christopher Eccleston, Isabella Star LaBlanc, and John Hawkins. Anna Lambe, Aka Niviâna, June Thiele, Diane Benson, and Joel D. Montgrand guest star. Issa López serves as showrunner, writer, director (all episodes), and executive producer.

“One of the things that I really love about it is that [the show has] worlds that you’ve never seen before, that have this creepy, spooky, thrilling tone that mirrors the interior journey of both of the tortured detectives,” star Foster explained of her interest in the story. “I think that’s what I was drawn to was watching and being really a part of a new and fascinating and interesting cultural generational trauma unfold through Kali’s character and through Navarro, and then through all of the people around her. And I’m sort of the lovable antagonist.”

Finding The Right Tone for True Detective: Night Country Was Important

By the time True Detective: Night Country debuts, it will have been four years since the last installment of the anthology crime drama and HBO executive Casey Bloys previously said that they were looking for the “right tone and take” for the series.

“It’s safe to say we’re working with a couple of writers to find that right tone and take,” Bloys explained. “it’s definitely an area that could be very interesting and I think it would be interesting with a new voice. Quality is what’s going to guide us so if we end up with scripts that we do not feel are representative or are not high enough quality, we’re not going to do something just to do it.”

True Detective: Night Country debuts January 14th on HBO and Max.