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True Detective: Issa Lopez on "Night Country"/Season 5; Navarro's Fate

True Detective: Night Country Showrunner Issa López and stars Jodie Foster & Kali Reis discuss Navarro's fate; will Season 5 connect?

It was back in February when the good news hit that True Detective: Night Country Showrunner Issa López would be back to helm a fifth season of the popular anthology series as part of an overall deal. With López looking to keep with the show's original anthology format, that means that Jodie Foster and Kali Reis won't be returning – but that doesn't mean that their time in "Night Country" is over quite yet. Taking part in a Deadline TV Contenders panel, López, Foster & Reis discussed the hit series – specifically, the fate of Reis' Detective Navarro, one that was left with a lot of room for interpretation. One person who does know what happened to Navarro is Reis – but she's not talking.

"I have my own interpretation for Navarro, but I have not shared that with a soul," Reis shared. Building on that, López teases that there is an "answer" in play for what happened in the end – if viewers look hard enough. "I think that if you look very carefully, very carefully at the show and follow the lines very carefully, there's an answer to what we saw at the end. But again, there's a space for where your heart wants to live…and what you need to get out of it," López explained.

Noting the season's ongoing theme that "the dead live among us – in that place of Ennis, but also in the Native American culture of those places," Foster added, "You embrace the death, dead people in your life, and they are part of this community and part of this village in some ways. So, I find that it was pretty well established throughout this. It's not surprising when you get to the end, and you're not quite sure – is she dead or is she not?"

And now, the big question that folks like us who like seeing how everything connects have been wondering about. While we know that Det. Danvers (Foster) & Det. Navarro (Reis) won't be returning for the fifth season, could we see some folks during the upcoming season have some threads connecting back to "Night Country"? López would only offer a safe, middle-of-the-road tease: "It might – or not – be connected to Ennis. We will see."

"From conception to release, 'Night Country' has been the most beautiful collaboration and adventure of my entire creative life," López shared. "HBO trusted my vision all the way, and the idea of bringing to life a new incarnation of 'True Detective' with Casey, Francesca and the whole team is a dream come true. I can't wait to go again." Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO Programming and head of HBO drama series and films, added, "Issa Lopez is that one-of-a-kind, rare talent that speaks directly to HBO's creative spirit. She helmed 'True Detective: Night Country' from start to finish, never once faltering from her own commendable vision, and inspiring us with her resilience both on the page and behind the camera. Alongside Jodie and Kali's impeccable performances, she's made this installation of the franchise a massive success, we are so lucky to have her as part of our family."

Joining Foster and Reis were Finn Bennett, Fiona Shaw, Christopher Eccleston, Isabella Star LaBlanc, and John Hawkes. In addition, Anna Lambe, Aka Niviâna, June Thiele, Diane Benson, and Joel D. Montgrand guest-starred.

HBO's True Detective: Night Country – An Overview

In this season of HBO's crime anthology series, Detectives Liz Danvers (Foster) & Evangeline Navarro (Reis) look to solve the case of eight men operating the Tsalal Arctic Research Station who vanished without a trace when the long winter night fell in Ennis, Alaska. In doing so, the pair will have to confront the darkness they carry in themselves and dig into the haunting truths that lie buried under the eternal ice.

López writes, directs & serves as showrunner, with Alan Page Arriaga (Shining Girls) joining the writing team. Executive producers include López, Page Arriaga, Foster, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski & Mark Ceryak for Pastel, Mari Jo Winkler, Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Cary Joji Fukunaga & Nic Pizzolatto, along with Anonymous Content. "We are tremendously excited to return to the 'True Detective' franchise and to be working with the multi-talented Issa López, whose singular vision for her 'Night Country' installment will be beautifully realized with Jodie Foster and Kali Reis in the starring roles," said Orsi when news of the series order was first announced.

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