Issa López Went To A Dark Place To Helm 'True Detective' — With The Support Of Native People

Issa López is a bit anxious as we hop on a video call to discuss the fourth season of “True Detective.” For what it’s worth, though, it’s a pretty big deal for her. She’s the first female showrunner, writer, director and executive producer of the previously mostly white male-helmed and -centered anthology thriller usually plotted around cases of sinister, mortal horror.

And with its latest outing, López turns much of that on its head by infusing the HBO series with more cosmic horror in a story that aligns two female detectives (Kali Reis and Jodie Foster) in a frigid Alaska’s monthslong period of endless night (hence the season’s subtitle, “Night Country”).

When López and I finally got a chance to speak, it was just nine days before the season’s premiere this Sunday. So, she was naturally feeling the energy around that as reviews began trickling in. “I don’t wish it on the worst of my enemies,” she tells me. “The fucking instrumental waiting for the reviews is horrible.”

Before I bring up the fact that reviews of “Night Country” at the time of our conversation were, actually, overwhelmingly positive , she quickly added that she was thrilled about this but it hadn’t placated her restlessness yet. As she reminded me, there were still more reviews to come. Plus, the audience had obviously not watched it yet.

“I hate the idea of jinxing everything,” López continued. “You become so superstitious in this business, I’m telling you.”

I believe it. To add to that, “Night Country” has been years in the making, beginning first as a stand-alone Western whodunit that López began penning in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, long before HBO came calling. What you’ll see Sunday is a sharp and fiercely feminine addition to