Hardcore True Detective Fans Attacked For Talking About The Show
True Detective: Night Country showrunner Issa Lopez is asking fans to fight back against bros and hard-core fanboys she claims are review bombing the show. Although the fourth season of the HBO crime series boats a 92 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, a segment of the fanbase is dissatisfied with the show’s recent shift in direction.
“If you liked last night’s episode of [True Detective: Night Country] and have a Rotten Tomatoes account, maybe head over there and leave an audience review,” she wrote in a now-deleted post on X. “The bros and hard-core fanboys of Season 1 have made it a mission to drag the rating down, and it’s kind of sad, considering all the five-star ones.”
Lopez then added a new post in response to accusations of generalized criticism. “Ok. I removed a post. I despise review bombing of any kind, but our audience score on [Rotten Tomatoes] is much better now, and I used a generalization about who was bombing. And [generalizations] are always a mistake. And so many beautiful bros and [True Detective Season 1] hard-core fans loved our episode 1!”
The change of heart from Lopez came after the True Detective: Night Country audience score on Rotten Tomatoes jumped from a mediocre 69 percent to 75 percent from over 250 fan reviews. The term “review bombing” is frequently used to describe the collective efforts of some viewers to diminish the audience score of a film or television series on platforms like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB.
Although Lopez did not pinpoint the specific reason why she felt True Detective fans were attempting to lower the audience rating for Night Country, entries in franchises featuring women and/or a diverse cast are often subjected to review bombing. This phenomenon has been observed in cases such as the MCU’s Captain Marvel and Sony’s 2016 Ghostbusters reboot.
Unlike previous seasons, True Detective: Night Country features Oscar winner Jodie Foster and boxer-turned-actor Kali Reis as the two female leads. The story revolves around a murder mystery involving an Indigenous Alaskan woman. The six-episode season offers a new take on the supernatural, making these elements a more central theme.
The change resulted in True Detective earning some one stars on Rotten Tomatoes, with fans expressing dissatisfaction with the departure from the vision of Nic Pizzolatto, the showrunner for the show’s first three seasons. Lopez, known for her work in the horror genre, took over as showrunner for Night Country, directing and co-writing all six episodes.
Billed as an anthology crime drama series, True Detective was created for HBO by Nic Pizzolatto. The show premiered in 2014, with each season featuring a distinct storyline and cast. The first season, set in Louisiana, follows detectives Rust Cohle and Martin Hart investigating ritualistic murders. The series was a hit, with critics praising the writing and performances by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.
Set in California, True Detective Season 2 featured Colin Farrell as a compromised detective, Rachel McAdams as a determined officer, Taylor Kitsch as a conflicted war veteran, and Vince Vaughn as a criminal-turned-businessman. The story explored corruption, crime, and conspiracy involving land deals and politics. The season received mixed reviews due to its convoluted plot.
The third season of True Detective was a return to form for the show, telling the story of Detective Wayne Hays investigating the disappearance of two children in the Ozarks across three timelines. The series’ third outing was well-received, with Mahershala Ali’s performance hailed as one of his best.
In January 2020, Pizzolatto signed a deal with Fox 21 Television Studios and FX Productions, raising doubts about his role in True Detective Season. HBO began discussions about a fourth season with other writers the following year and eventually went with Issa Lopez.
