True Detective: Night Country capped off its six-episode run with a record number of viewers, helping the fourth installment to become the most-watched season of the HBO crime anthology series so far.
As reported by Deadline, the season finale of True Detective: Night Country drew 3.2 million viewers across HBO and Max, marking a season-high for first-night viewership and putting an end to the most-watched season of True Detective's four chapters to date, with an average of 12.7 million cross-platform viewers per episode.
This figure puts the average viewership for True Detective: Night Country ahead of the show's debut season, which previously held the record as the most-watched installment of the crime drama, with around 11.9 million people tuning in to watch Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson getting their sleuth on each week.
The first episode of True Detective: Night Country aired on Jan. 14, 2024. It received critical acclaim with recognition for Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, who star as Liz Danvers and Evangeline Navarro, two tough detectives investigating the disappearance of eight men from the Tsalal Arctic Research Station in Alaska.
True Detective: Night Country marked a new chapter in the acclaimed HBO crime series, as it was the first season without series creator Nic Pizzolatto serving as showrunner or writer. He confirmed early on in the series that he didn't have "any input" with the new installment and that Issa López had taken the baton.
López not only created True Detective: Night Country, but she also served as showrunner, writer, and sole director on all six episodes. The series has received high praise from critics (despite some suspected review bombing and questionable AI usage), with IGN calling it "the best season of the series since the original."
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter @AdeleAnkers.
