Issa López wants True Detective: Night Country to show how far we’ve come, and how much we’ve forgotten

polygon.com:

Let’s dispel any trepidation you might have from previous seasons of True Detective, and all the baggage they carry: True Detective: Night Countryis astoundingly good television. A six-episode stunner where a macabre murder unspools into a layered exploration of an Alaskan town at the edge of Earth, its relationship with its Indigenous population, and the things the Arctic’s long night can do to a person, Night Country is about as good a start to television in 2024 we can ask for.

It only gets better when you hear creator Issa López talking about it. In the lead-up to Night Country’s premiere, the writer-director spoke to Polygon about taking over from True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto, responding to the original show’s themes a decade later, and the horror that comes from being disconnected from our history.

Polygon: Night Country is only six episodes, shorter than prior True Detective seasons. Was that a tightrope to walk? It’s both a lot of time and not much at all!

Issa López: In my initial conversation with HBO about it, they were like, “How do you feel about True Detective?” and I told them what I had in mind. And they said, “We love it. 10 episodes?” And I was like, “No,”because I wanted to direct every one of them, you know?

And as time went by there were several conversations where they were like, “Seven?” and I was like “No, six.” It was always six. It is tight for all the terrain we cover in the series, but at the same time, I am a firm believer in economy and saying what’s necessary and never overstaying your welcome, leaving people wanting more. So it was a perfect size, I think.

Night Country is based on a story you were working on before HBO asked you about True Detective , yes? Can you tell