True Detective Showrunner Confirms New Characters, Setting for Season 5

Earlier this year, on the heels of a successful fourth season, HBO renewed True Detective for Season 5 and announced that True Detective: Night Country showrunner Issa López would be returning for the next installment as well. Since then, fans of the series have wondered if the fifth season of the series would follow in the footsteps of previous seasons and feature a new location or if it would tie into Night Country‘s Ennis, Alaska and now, López confirms that Season 5 is “completely different.”

“In the writing,” López told Variety when asked where she is in the process for Season 5. “And it’s a blast. It’s completely different. There’s different characters, different setting, different story — and I’m enjoying it like crazy.”

López wouldn’t reveal any specific details or even if Season 5 would, like Season 4, revolve around two women, but she did confirm that it would be completely different.

“I will not tell you that yet — yet. But it’s a completely different adventure. Let’s put it that way,” she said.

López has previously teased that Season 5 “might or not” be connected to Ennis and she did echo that in these most recent comments as well, saying “I still can’t tell, but I think you will be pleasantly surprised. We’ll see.”

What Is True Detective: Night Country About?

In True Detective: Night Country, “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) will have to confront the darkness they carry in themselves and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice.”

The series earned critical acclaimed was a hit for HBO, reaching a record number of viewers with 3.2 million for its season finale earlier this year across viewers on HBO and on the Max streaming service. The season was also the most watched of the True Detective series, with 12.7 million viewers across HBO and Max, surpassing Season 1’s 11.9 million.

“Issa López is that one-of-a-kind, rare talent that speaks directly to HBO’s creative spirit,” Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films said when True Detective was renewed. “She helmed True Detective: Night Country from start to finish, never once faltering from her own commendable vision, and inspiring us with her resilience both on the page and behind the camera. Alongside Jodie and Kali’s impeccable performances, she’s made this installation of the franchise a massive success, we are so lucky to have her as part of our family.”