The fourth season of True Detective — True Detective: Night Country — may have been a hit with critics, garnering some of the best critical reactions for the series since its debut season, but not everyone was happy with it. Series creator Nic Pizzolatto had some critical comments about Night Country, the first season of True Detective that he wasn’t involved in, when the show arrived this year, taking to Instagram to share those thoughts at the time. Now, with Night Country complete and a fifth season of True Detective in the works, Issa López is opening up about Pizzolatto’s comments, telling The Hollywood Reporter that she found them “confusing”.

“For me, it was very confusing. To have created something that you have three goes at, very successful ones — and then it becomes something so meaningful that different filmmakers and different voices are going to come on board and keep it alive beyond you — is the dream,” López said. “When I move on, someone else is going to come and take the mantle and go in a completely different direction, and that’s going to be so exciting to me to watch. It feels a little silly to not enjoy that achievement, really.”

Earlier this year, López also responded to Pizzolatto’s comments, noting that he is entitled to his feelings, but that she approached True Detective “with profound love for the work he made”.

“I believe that every storyteller has a very specific, peculiar, and unique relation to the stories they create, and whatever his reactions are, he’s entitled to them. That’s his prerogative,” López shared with Vulture. “I wrote this with profound love for the work he made and love for the people that loved it. 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.”

López Teases True Detective Season 5

HBO renewed True Detective for a fifth season earlier this year following the success of Night Country with López returning for the next installment as well. López has confirmed that Season 5 will be completely different from Night Country and recently teased that Season 5 of the HBO series is not only very different from what fans might expect, but it’s “even darker and even more twisted” as well.

“I’m dying for everyone to know because it’s very different and very exciting,” López said. “It’s even darker and even more twisted. I can’t wait to put it out there.”

What Is True Detective: Night Country About?

In True Detective: Night Country, “When the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska, the eight men who operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace. To solve the case, detectives Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) will have to confront the darkness they carry in themselves and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice.”

The series earned critical acclaimed was a hit for HBO, reaching a record number of viewers with 3.2 million for its season finale earlier this year across viewers on HBO and on the Max streaming service. The season was also the most watched of the True Detective series, with 12.7 million viewers across HBO and Max, surpassing Season 1’s 11.9 million.