True Detective fans are expressing the same concern after the return of the HBO series. The fourth installment, True Detective: Night Country, kicked off with Jodie Foster and Kali Reis in the lead roles on Sunday, January 14.
Reviews for the new season are positive, with many applauding the central performances and even comparing it to the highly acclaimed first season from 2014, starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.
However, there is a common complaint about the show, specifically regarding its opening titles—more precisely, the choice of song played during the credits.
Viewers are questioning about True Detective’s opening song
In previous seasons, including the less well-received second one, True Detective was praised for its title track. The first season featured The Handsome Family’s “Far from Any Road,” while the opening for the second season was Leonard Cohen’s song “Nevermind” from his 2014 album Popular Problems.
In the third season, which starred Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff, the opening music featured Cassandra Wilson’s rendition of Son House’s “Death Letter,” setting high expectations for the fourth season.
However, in True Detective: Night Country, viewers quickly notice that this time, the song is Billie Eilish’s “Bury a Friend.” While the quality of the track isn’t the issue, some people are questioning why it was chosen, considering its frequent use in many other movies and TV shows.
Billie Eilish’s song was used frequently in other projects
The song, from Eilish’s 2019 debut album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?,” was recently used in the trailer for Sony’s Spider-Man spin-off, Madame Web, starring Sydney Sweeney.
It has also been featured in trailers for Carnival Row and Night Swim, as well as TV shows like The Society, Dickinson, and Big Mouth, and movies like Steven Soderbergh’s Kimi and Sing 2.
One viewer expressed their concern, saying, “My only ‘real’ gripe is that they chose that Billie Eilish song for the theme. I like Eilish! It’s a good song! But it’s SO overdone for every single trailer/score. NEW SONGS, PEOPLE. PLEASE.”
Another person commented that choosing Billie Eilish for the new True Detective intro song is… a decision that was made. Another viewer added that there are about 10 songs in the new True Detective, and they’re all dull and lack vibrancy.
But the title sequence song, which happens to be the same Billie Eilish song from the Madame Web trailer, is the worst of them all. True Detective is accessible in the US on HBO and in the UK on Sky Atlantic and NOW.
True Detective Season 4 reviews
Early reviews from critics have started pouring in before the upcoming premiere, and they seem overwhelmingly positive. Inverse’s Hoai-Tran Bui tweeted that True Detective is back, and this time it’s a full-fledged horror show. Season 4 is the best since the first, and Jodie Foster gives a performance so steely she could cut armor. Chilling, evocative & so good.
Scott Wampler, a contributor to Fangoria Magazine, also praised the new season, calling it “an absolute knockout from start to finish” and added, “Also? Scary as hell. Jodie Foster’s excellent, Kali Reis is a goddamn revelation, and Issa Lopez’s phone is about to be ringing off the hook. Get hyped, friends.”
Vicky Jessop, in her four-star review for The Evening Standard, specifically commended Jodie Foster’s performance, describing it as “predictably superb.”
Rolling Stone TV Critic Alan Sepinwall labeled it “must-see TV” in his review.
The fourth season is releasing almost exactly a decade after the detective show’s first Emmy-winning season in 2014, where leads Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson received Emmy nominations for their roles as detectives Rust Cohle and Martin Hart.
After its first Emmy-winning season in 2014, True Detective faced criticism for its second season in 2015, which starred Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Vince Vaughn, and Taylor Kitsch. However, it made a strong comeback with a well-received third season in 2019, featuring Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff.
As of now, the fourth season, titled True Detective: Night Country, has a perfect 100% critical rating on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
The premiere of the six-episode season is scheduled for Sunday, January 14, at 9 pm ET/PT on Max in the US, with new episodes airing weekly. UK viewers can catch the episodes on Sky Atlantic/NOW the following Mondays.
