‘True Detective’ Creator Nic Pizzolatto Posts Bizarre Statement on Season 4 Trolling, Says TV Criticism Is Treated Like ‘Hitlerian Evil That Must Be Stamped Out’
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Nic Pizzolatto, the original creator of HBO’s “True Detective” franchise, published a bizarre Instagram post amid controversy generated in the aftermath of the show’s fourth season finale.
“True Detective: Night Country,” starring Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, ended its six-episode run on Feb. 18. Pizzolatto found himself in hot water after reposting comments to his Instagram story that slammed the show as “disrespectful and insulting” and a “hot mess.” “Night Country” was created by Issa López and marked the first run of “True Detective” episodes not written by Pizzolatto, although he was still credited as an executive producer.
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In a new Instagram post, Pizzolatto addressed the fans hating on “True Detective: Night Country” by creating a post for them to channel their anger in the comments section. Pizzolatto wants fans to stop spamming his other, non-“True Detective” related posts with outrage, so he created one post that could be used as the sole space for their criticisms.
“TRUE DETECTIVE AGGREGATE POST – this here is the place for all your trolling/support/infighting around ‘True Detective’ and the absolute moral degeneracy and misogyny of anyone who did not think it was good,” Pizzolatto wrote. “Let’s move these screeds off my posts about my wife, true love, and my father’s death, kay?”
“I’d say ‘stay civil’ but of course civility has no place when criticism of a television show indicates some form of Hitlerian evil that must be stamped out,” Pizzolatto added. “So roll on, tide. Satire is welcome, and do try to have a nice day”
Pizzolatto originally got caught up in controversy during Season 4’s run after he amplified fans on social media who disliked the new installment. He originally dissed “Night Country” in since-deleted Instagram comments, calling Season 4’s ties to his first season “so stupid.” He also told one fan, “I certainly did not have any input on this story or anything else. Can’t blame me.”
More controversy was generated after the “Night Country” finale aired. Pizzolatto reposted comments made by several fans who were outraged with the finale and its “lazy, nonsensical” resolutions. One fan that got reposted claimed that Lopez had “butchered” Pizzolatto’s original writing given the connections between “Night Country” and the first season of “True Detective.”
Replying to a commenter on his latest Instagram post, Pizzolatto ased: “Where have I spread hate? That’s a ridiculous accusation, honestly. I think you got some fake news. Or need to read my post more closely.”
Post-finale backlash against Pizzolatto caught the eye of Kali Reis, the wrestler-turned-actor who headlined “Night Country” alongside Foster.
“That’s a damn shame,” Reis wrote on X (formerly Twitter) about Pizzolatto’s decision to amplify negative reactions to the finale. “But hey I guess ‘if you don’t have anything good to share, shit on others’ is the new wave lol.”
López was asked by Vulture about Pizzolatto’s criticisms earlier into the run of “Night Country,” to which she answered: “I believe that every storyteller has a very specific, peculiar and unique relation to the stories they create. Whatever his reactions are, he’s entitled to them. That’s his prerogative.”
“I wrote this with profound love for the work he made and love for the people that loved it,” López added. “And it is a reinvention, and it is different, and it’s done with the idea of sitting down around the fire, and [let’s] have some fun and have some feelings and have some thoughts. And anybody that wants to join is welcome.”
All episodes of “True Detective: Night Country” are now available to stream on Max.
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