“True Detective: Night Country” showrunner Issa Lopez urged fans to fight back against toxic trolls on Rotten Tomatoes on X (formerly Twitter) the day after her season debuted on HBO and Max. While the fourth season of the HBO crime series has earned rave reviews (it boasts a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score based on 73 reviews), apparently a section of fans are unhappy with the show’s new direction (the Rotten Tomatoes audience score is) 69%).
“So, if you liked last night’s (episode of ‘True Detective: Night Country’), and you have a Rotten Tomatoes account, maybe go over there and leave an audience review?” Lopez wrote to his followers. “The bros and die-hard fans of (Season 1) have made it a mission to drag the ratings down, and it’s kind of sad seeing all the 5-star ones.”
“Review bombing” is a term often associated with fans joining together to degrade a film or television series’ viewership score on Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, and other platforms. Lopez didn’t identify the exact reason why “True Detective” fans were trying to drag down “Night Country” viewership ratings, but franchise entries led by women and/or inclusive casts often become the target of review bombing. Are. This happened with Marvel with “Captain Marvel” and with Sony’s 2016 “Ghostbusters” reboot, among other examples.
“True Detective: Night Country” is headlined by two female actors, two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster and boxer-turned-actor Kali Reese, and concerns a murder mystery involving an indigenous Alaskan woman. The new season surprises TV critics DiversityAlison Herman called it a “rewarding reboot” and “a chilling murder mystery”, adding: “The six-episode season takes a notably different approach to the supernatural, building on the background of previous installments that Becomes a central theme here.”
A quick look at “Night Country” audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes shows some one-star reviews mixed with disappointment that “True Detective” is no longer the vision of showrunner Nick Pizzolatto for the first three seasons. Mexican screenwriter and filmmaker Issa López, whose successful 2017 horror film “Tigers Are Not Afraid” served as showrunner for “Night Country,” directed and co-wrote all six episodes.
The season premiere of “Night Country” is now streaming on Max. New episodes will air Sunday nights at 9 pm ET on HBO and Max.
