The return of the True Detective franchise, which marks Jodie Foster‘s TV debut, is something to be celebrated. After all, the series was a success in the premiere, a flop in the second, and only ok in the third. The fourth season promises to be definitive for its future, with the hope of matching the anthological first.

Although the stories are not connected, it is worth recovering where each one began and ended. They are always with crimes, cast, and plots told in 8 episodes. And with a great soundtrack.

Season 1

Matthew McConaughey) and Martin “Marty” Hart (Woody Harrelson) fought and stopped talking for 17 years, but they are called to recall the case that brought them together for the first time, the murder of prostitute Dora Lange in 1995. The case was never satisfactorily solved and there are other crimes connected to it.

Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and recorded entirely in Louisiana, it was an award-winning success with audiences and critics alike.

Season 2

It debuted a year after the first, in January 2015, with great expectations and greater influence from the showrunner, Nic Pizzolatto. Here, three detectives from different areas of Los Angeles are forced to work together to solve a series of crimes that collide with police corruption and construction speculation in the city. Colin Farrell as dubious Detective Raymond “Ray” Velcoro, Vince Vaughn as criminal and businessman Frank Semyon, Rachel McAdams as anguished Detective Antigone “Ani” Bezzerides, and Taylor Kitsch as California Highway Patrolman Paul Woodrugh, who has a past that he keeps a secret from everyone.

The story is much messier than the first, with Vince Vaughn clearly more cast in a central dramatic role. There are interesting script surprises, but not enough to handle the inconsistencies that turned the second season into a controversial and criticized continuation.

Season 3

After two years of “rest”, the third season came in an attempt to recover the credibility and success of the first, betting on Mahershala Ali, leaving the Oscar, to lead the cast.

This time the story takes place over three decades and accompanies detectives Wayne Hays (Ali) and Roland West (Stephen Dorff), who work in the state police of northwestern Arkansas and investigate a series of disappearances of children. More coherent than the second, but still far from the mystery and quality of the first season, it was accepted by critics, but did not recover the franchise’s audience.

Season 4

The fourth attempt is set to debut in 2023, without showrunner Nic Pizzolatto and with Jodie Foster leading a strong cast. Not much is known yet, just that it is now set in Alaska and will feature a cast of two female detectives – Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) – who investigate the disappearance of six men from the Tsalal Arctic research station.

See the description of the characters:

Jodie Foster – Det. Liz Danvers
Kali Reis – Det. Evangeline Navarro
John Hawkes – Hank Prior, a cop with old grudges hidden beneath a silent surface.
Christopher Eccleston as Ted Corsaro, the regional police chief with a long history linking him to Liz Danvers.
Fiona Shaw – Rose Aguineau, a survivor with a past full of secrets.
Finn Bennett – Peter Prior, protégé and apprentice of Liz Danvers – for better or for worse.
Anna Lambe – Kayla Malee, a young nurse with little patience for anyone messing with her family.
Aka Niviâna – Julia, sister of Navarro, a woman fighting demons both in her story and in her mind.
Isabella Star Lablanc – Leah, Danvers’ stepdaughter, is a young woman fighting for her voice and her identity.
Joel D. Montgrand – Eddie Qavvik, Navarro’s love interest. He’s a local musher with deep Ennis connections.