How ‘True Detective: Night Country’ May Connect to Matthew McConaughey Original

Anthology crime drama True Detective is back for its fourth season, True Detective: Night Country, and there are several possible ways the new season connects back to Matthew McConaughey’s version way back in 2014. A new teaser trailer for the highly-anticipated installment has been released, and as pointed out by Polygon, while meant to be a standalone season, there are plenty of callbacks to the first season.

From cases to shots to symbolism, there is much connection to True Detective Season 1. Perhaps one of the biggest connections is the spiral from the first season that connected to a crime ring. The spiral showed up again in the much-delayed third season, and it looks like it will be coming back into the fold for Season 4. In what way, though, is unknown and probably won’t be found out until it premieres.

True Detective initially premiered in 2014 and starred McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Potts, and Tory Kittles. At the time, it was HBO’s highest-rated series premiere since 2010’s Boardwalk Empire, but by the second season, interest dipped. The third season did better, and now with a fourth season on the way, hopefully, that continues. 

Starring Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, True Detective: Night Country is set to take place in Alaska, which is yet another connection that fans have realized, even if it wasn’t intentional. Episode 4 of the first season, “Who Goes There,” saw Matthew McConaughey’s Detective Rust Cohle claim of going to The Last Frontier due to personal reasons. While it could be a coincidence since it is a bit of a stretch, it does seem like there’s a lot of connections to the first season, so you never know.

The third season of True Detective aired in 2019, and before that, Season 2 aired in 2015. With again four years in between the seasons, another season is long overdue. A set premiere date hasn’t been announced yet, but it will premiere later this year, which could be at any time. It will be interesting to see what other connections are in Night Country and if it’s as apparent as the ones that are in the trailer.

True Detective: Night Country will be a season to look out for, and just like any anthology, knowledge on previous seasons isn’t a necessity. However, if you’re a fan of the series itself, it should be quite a treat if those connections are true.