‘True Detective: Night Country’ Available Now to Own on Blu-ray!

“True Detective: Night Country” is an HBO anthology series that airs on HBO, if you have cable, or Max if you subscribe to the streaming service. When I watched “True Detective: Night Country” on Max, it was truly appointment television. Each week, I waited for the next episode to drop so that I could watch it on Sunday night. Much like “Succession” in years prior, I would always watch this show after dinner on Sunday evening so that I could avoid any online spoilers later that night on social media.

Fans of the “True Detective” series know that this particular season was helmed by a different director/showrunner and took place not in the South, like seasons 1 and 3, nor was it set in Los Angeles like in season 2. The fourth installment in the series was set in the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska, and was written and directed by Issa López.

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.

There are many things that I liked about the fourth season. First and foremost, Jodie Foster as Detective Liz Danvers, played a complex person on the show, an anti-hero if you will. Every scene that Foster was in, I just marveled at her acting and you could tell that her scene partners stepped up their game to match her energy.

Detective Evangeline Navarro (played by Kali Reis) has a thorny relationship with Danvers. They were partners years ago and had a falling out. Much like her character Detective Navarro, Kali Reis is biracial and of Native American heritage. The case that both Danvers and Navarro are trying to solve, takes them to areas of Ennis with a high Indigenous population. It was interesting to see Navarro reflect on her Native American identity while navigating the case.

Now I’ve read many ‘think pieces’ on “True Detective: Night Country” where the writer laments about the show not having any ‘likable characters’ or that the show plodded along and was boring. Yes, the show threw in red herrings, much like the previous seasons helmed by male directors. The ‘likable characters’ comment annoyed me because no one would say that about a show with two male leads. Both Navarro and Danvers lead rich, complicated lives. Sometimes they make bad decisions and other times they make good choices. That’s how people are in real life.

The season also stars John Hawkes (“Deadwood: The Movie”), Christopher Eccleston (“The Leftovers”), Fiona Shaw (“Killing Eve”), and Finn Bennett (“A Banquet”).

My takeaways:

• The two leads and supporting cast give solid performances. Kali Reis’ performance shines and I hope to see her in more TV shows and/or movies.
• The storyline was entertaining and thought-provoking.
• I like how the writer/director used her platform to bring awareness to the racial injustice that Indigenous people go through.
• Should “True Detective” fans see it? Yes! Honestly, even if you haven’t seen any earlier seasons, you should still watch it. Since this is set up as an anthology, it’s a complete stand-alone show.

“True Detective: Night Country” is available to purchase now on Blu-ray and DVD. You can also buy it Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu, and more!

For more information, check out the “True Detective” website here.

Disclosure: No monetary compensation was received for this post. This blog post is for informational purposes. I received a complimentary copy of the DVD Box Set which helped facilitate this write-up. Images shown in this post are used with permission. As always, my opinions are 100% my own.