Nic Pizzolatto’s True Detective returned with a new season this year and by the reception so far, looks like this season will be taking the show back to its former glory. Starring Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, the new season of this HBO series is set mostly in Alaska, USA.
Jodie Foster stars as a tired but skilled detective who works on a mysterious case where 8 men end up disappearing from the village overnight. These men were working at a research station, so their disappearance ended up creating chaos and confusion within the small town where Lis Danvers (Foster) works.
Through suspense and intrigue, season 4 of True Detective is highly reminiscent of the same dark and uncomfortable atmosphere that we’d seen in season 1 of the crime drama with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.
Since the first season, the audience of True Detective started declining due to the predictable storylines and overused plot design.
Season 4 of the Nic Pizzolatto show is shaking things up, and stars great actors like John Hawkes as Captain Hank, Kali Reis playing Trooper Evangeline, Fiona Shaw plays Rose, Finn Bennett portrays Officer Peter, and Isabella Star LaBlanc plays the role of Leah Danvers.
Filming Locations
With a budget of a whopping $60 million, filming for True Detective season 4, also called True Detective: Night Country, started in November 2022 and lasted until April of the next year. Although this season, starring Jodie Foster, was set in Alaska, major filming for it took place in Iceland.
The small town that the 4th season is based in, Ennis, is a fictional place. The show describes this place as a frigid and dark area that has mysterious tales surrounding it. While Ennis may not be real, it is heavily inspired by a real-life Alaskan Borough, North Slope Borough, a place that’s larger than Utah.
Shooting in Alaska would have been good for the True Detective crew to film the chilly scenes, but Iceland was the best choice because of the stunning icy landscapes surrounding every corner. The crew didn’t even have to set up a stage or weather additions to make the scenes realistic.
Director Lopez revealed that they were filming continuously in temperatures like -23°C, so everyone was cold and acting out their lines in the frigid temperatures. This certainly makes Night Country more authentic and fun, considering no one faked the shivers and icy breaths.
In Iceland, the major filming spot was Reykjavik, a capital city that’s known for its exciting nightlife and entertaining music festivals all around the year.
Besides these, Reykjavik also has plenty of tourist spots like museums, exhibitions, and stunning architectural wonders. Productions that have taken place in Reykjavik besides True Detective are Heart of Stone, Independence Day, and Operation Napoleon.
Akureyri, a culturally diverse town in Iceland, helped provide the remote and cozy village atmosphere for some of the scenes of Night Country. While Akureyri may lack the excessive fun spots that Reykjavik has, it’s filled with picturesque nature views that Iceland is known for.
Places like the Myvatn region, Godafoss waterfall, and Dettifoss waterfalls are some must-visit places in and around Akureyri. Another village that True Detective season 4 was shot in is Dalvik, located in the Northern parts of Iceland. The cozy little town may just have a population of a few thousand, but it’s considered a true fishing village with beautiful views of the Icelandic environment.
Lying 411 kilometers away from Reykjavik, Dalvik was used extensively throughout the 4th season. Since it lies close to the water, Dalvik had extremely low temperatures that the True Detective production team was looking for.
Keflavik is another town in Iceland that was used to film scenes of Ennis. Lying in the Reykjanes Peninsula, Keflavik was closed for a whole day so that the True Detective crew could turn the town into Ennis and film all required scenes there.
HBO and Truenorth had to get a license from the Icelandic government to film in these regions because many shops and other areas had to be closed for several days due to it.
Although Keflavik isn’t much of a popular film spot, it has briefly appeared in productions like Virgin Mountain, Naked Science, and many episodes of The Amazing Race.
This sums up the known locations of True Detective’s 4th season, now available to stream at HBO or HBO Max.
