There is no denying the ratings success of ‘True Detective: Night Country’ for HBO and their streaming platform Max, and the filmmaker behind the crime franchises most watched season, Issa Lopez, is contemplating what the future holds for the franchise, including a potential sequel to the season.
When reflecting on the monumental success of the latest entry, Lopez discussed reaching the goals they set.
“Oh, God. That’s what you want with a series, right?” Lopez said, in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. “You want to start solid and grow, and the challenge was, can we revive that spirit and can we get people back to True Detective? And they came, and then not only came, but more people came than the first one. It’s always scary when you’re going to take a challenge like this and seeing this response has just been fantastic. This sounds so corny, but it was made with so much love that seeing this response, it just warms your heart.”
While Lopez was confident that the season would be successful, the filmmaker has been profoundly impacted, in a good way, by the positive reviews and the love that the show has received this season.
“The amount of love on reviews and podcasts and coverage, but also on social media and everything … it’s just not only the amount, but the enthusiasm and the declarations of this moved me. I cannot stop thinking about it. It’s just very profound and obviously, there are people that didn’t dig it, but it’s less, way less, and it’s just a little percentage, and they’re very angry and that’s kind of what it is. But you just bask in the fact that so many people responded to [the] reviving, and a lot of people who had seen the first season love the fact that it felt like that. And a lot of people who have not seen a single season before, loved it, went back, watched the other three, and now the original three seasons also [rose in ratings] because people went back to watch them. So that’s just beautiful.”
And as far as a potential sequel to ‘Night Country’, given it’s rather ambiguous ending, Lopez doesn’t exactly shut down the idea.
“I’ve been talking about this nonstop for the last two weeks because I’ve been seeing my actors. We did a lot of exit press, which is an interesting phenomenon in itself; turns out that the interest in the series only grew. So I was in Europe last week with Jodie and Kali, and then I saw Finn and Anna Lamb and Fiona Shaw, and all of them are giving me hell like you wouldn’t imagine. (Laughs.) Just going, “Think about it, think about it!” And it was very beautiful. It’s a beautiful thing to hear, that they would be like, “Why not?” And I would be like, “Guys, think about it for a second. It would be a disservice to the characters.” And they love the characters. Because we took these people through a tremendous journey and they broke through themselves and came out on the other side. If we go into a second season, “And then three months later, a cat disappears in town …”
“But it’s the truth! We [kept talking] and were obviously playing with the idea, and I was on the train between Paris and London with Jodie and Kali, and they were like, “But you did think about it, right?” And I was like, ‘Well, sometimes you’re in the shower …” And they were like, “Please tell us.” And I was like, “Well, first of all, it would take place during the long day … Oh, I shouldn’t have said that.” (Laughs.) So it’s very tempting because it was a joy and we miss each other, and it turned out so well, and people loved it. And the constant information that I’m getting from social is they want more of Danvers and Navarro, and also Prior. There’s a lot of love for Prior. It’s very tempting. But I do feel that the characters grew. It’s a lot more boring to do drama about grown people than people that need growth. So I don’t think I’ll do it.”
Read the full interview at the Hollywood Reporter.
