Issa López was a niche horror filmmaker from Mexico City until HBO tapped her to create the fourth season of its True Detective franchise. She wrote and directed all six episodes of True Detective: Night Country, which stars Jodie Foster and Kali Reis as Alaskan law enforcement officers investigating the mysterious deaths of a group of scientists who are bizarrely encased in a 2,000-pound block of ice, humorously dubbed a “corpsicle” by Foster’s character, Liz Danvers.
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| Kali Reis (left) and Jodie Foster in HBO’s True Detective: Night Country. Courtesy of HBO |
Despite the macabre reboot attracting a new fanbase, series creator Nic Pizzolatto wasn’t one of them; he criticized the season as “insulting” and a “hot mess” on Instagram. On the morning the show received 12 Emmy nominations, including outstanding limited or anthology series, López spoke with Morfeli Reporter.
Today is likely a day you'll never forget. How are you feeling?
As a Mexican immigrant who moved to the U.S. in 2009, this is the first time after years of hard work that I've created something in English with such global impact. It feels surreal. I need a moment to truly grasp what has just happened, because it's monumental.
Do you believe this success will influence the broader Mexican film and TV industry?
I certainly hope so. When I was growing up, there weren’t any role models in this field for someone like me. Movies like The Silence of the Lambs inspired me, and that's why I pursued Jodie Foster. But there wasn’t a Mexican woman in that space, although there were some Mexican directors.
Women from Mexico playing at that level just didn’t exist. I hope that for the next generation of Mexican and Latin American female directors, seeing one of us break through and hold the door open for others will make a difference.
Speaking of trailblazing Mexican directors, Guillermo del Toro has been a significant source of support and inspiration for you, hasn’t he?
Guillermo has been an incredible advocate for my work. My film Tigers Are Not Afraid was a breakthrough for me, and even though we didn’t know each other at the time, he went out of his way to praise it.
When I was working on the series and needed someone to create the corpsicle, I reached out to him, and he recommended the team that’s now Emmy-nominated for that creation.
Regarding the corpsicle, where is it currently kept? Can fans view it in person?
I’m frustrated about that because it was such an impressive piece, and I was determined to keep it as a dark piece of memorabilia. However, HBO isn’t into that; they destroy and recycle the parts.
The production was very eco-friendly, so it was recycled, which feels a bit criminal to me. But there’s also a certain poetry in knowing it lives on the screen for us all, forever.
You brought the show in an exciting new direction, but with an established fan base and expectations, that must have been challenging to navigate.
It was challenging. Fans of the first season joined in and understood that this installment would delve deeper into certain aspects while diverging from others. Some hated the series and were very vocal about it.
I suspect this reaction may be because the first series was very male-centric, while this one is extremely female. The first was predominantly white, while this one is more diverse. The direction shifted in a way that some fans resisted, and some just didn’t like it, which is fine. Others loved it. It was very divisive.
It bothered me when Nic Pizzolatto made negative comments about the season on social media. It didn’t sit right with me.
It was very confusing for me. To have created something that succeeded three times, and then see it evolve into something so meaningful that other filmmakers and voices come in to continue its legacy, that’s the dream.
When I step aside, someone else will take over and go in a completely different direction, and I’ll find that incredibly exciting to watch. It seems a bit odd not to celebrate that achievement.
Can you share anything about season five?
I can’t wait for everyone to find out because it’s very different and incredibly exciting. It’s darker and more twisted than ever. I’m eager to share it with the world.
