True Detective: What to Know About Night Country

For the first time in nearly five years, True Detective is returning to HBO with new episodes. The beloved crime series has had long gaps between installments since its second season aired in 2015. Season 4 debuts this weekend, and will take a slightly different approach to the thriller concept. True Detective: Night Country is the name of the newest season, and it's set in Alaska during the state's season of lengthy winter nights.

True Detective: Night Country debuts on HBO and Max on Sunday, January 14th. Unlike previous seasons, Night Country will only consist of six episodes, as opposed to eight. That means a new episode will arrive every Sunday for six straight weeks, with the finale set to air on February 18th.

What Is True Detective: Night Country About?

This new season of True Detective takes the story to Alaska, following a brand new group of characters and a dangerous new case. Jodie Foster and Kali Reis as detectives who have to solve the disappearance of a group of researchers n the arctic. You can check out the official description of Night Country below.

"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 (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."

Does True Detective: Night Country Connect to Past Seasons?

Night Country is actually the fourth season of True Detective. The show has followed an anthology format, meaning that each season features different characters and a different story. The first season, which debuted in 2014, starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. That initial run helped turn the show into a sensation, leading to multiple additional installments (though none of them reached the critical or commercial heights of the first).

True Detective: Night Country may make reference to previous installments of the series, but there won't be any crucial connective tissue. You don't need to have watched any of the other seasons in order to watch Night Country, making it a great starting point for new fans. 

Showrunner Issa López recently revealed that there will be some slight connections to the previous seasons, though it doesn't seem they will affect the new story.

"There are Easter eggs throughout that you will find and there's a big, big thing in Episode 6 that you will discover in time," López shared at an HBO press event, per Entertainment Weekly. "It is its own story, but it's still connected. The spiral is there, the way that there are those dark and ancient gods (perhaps yes, perhaps not) working behind the scenes. It is the same universe."

Are you looking forward to seeing what True Detective has in store with the debut of Night Country this weekend? Do you think it will reach the highs of the show's first season? Let us know in the comments!