True Detective: Night Country star says toxic fans need to get over season one connection

Showrunner Issa López accused ‘fanboys’ of disingenuously bringing the series’ rating down on Rotten Tomatoes

True Detective: Night Country star Kali Reis has hit back at misogynistic “bros” whom showrunner Issa López accused of review bombing the series.

“Review bombing” is a term used to describe when people post negative reviews of a film, TV series or video game en masse, in a coordinated effort to lower its rating on aggregator websites like Rotten Tomatoes.

While the first three seasons of the HBO anthology series were led by male actors, its latest iteration is fronted by Reis and Oscar-winner Jodie Foster.

After the first episode of Night Country arrived last month, López tweeted: “So, if you liked last night’s [episode] of [True Detective: Night Country], and have a Rotten Tomatoes account, maybe head over there and leave an audience review? The bros and hardcore fanboys of [season one] have made it a mission to drag the rating down, and it’s kind of sad, considering all the five star ones.”

López has since deleted the tweet.

Reis – who plays Alaska State Trooper Evangeline Navarro – was asked about her director’s comments in a recent interview with The Independent.

Kali Reis, left, and Jodie Foster in a scene from ‘True Detective: Night Country’ (HBO)

“Everyone loved the first season, including myself,” she said. “Issa did not attempt to rewrite the first season or do better than the first season. There are connections to the first season, there’s a homage, there’s a love letter to the first season. But you're not going to duplicate the first season.

“So, if they could get their head out of season one’s ass that would be great. If they could just take it for what it is and if you don't like it, fine. But it’s kind of unfortunate because you have people who count on fanboys and these ‘true fans’ and are like, ‘Oh, well if they’re saying that then I don't even want to watch it.’”

Elsewhere in the interview, Reis said some trolls had accused her character of raping her boyfriend, Eddie Qavvik (Joel D Montgrand).

In one scene, Navarro has sex with Qavvik while grabbing his throat. “I got accused of my character being a raper!” she said. “I’m like: what century do you live in?”

Other shows to have been affected by review-bombing in recent years include The Last of Us, which drew the ire of homophobic trolls for its LGBT+ storylines.

Episode three of the hit post-apocalyptic series, titled “Long, Long Time”, focused on the same-sex love affair between Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett). The episode received widespread acclaim, and was praised by critics and viewers alike for its touching narrative. However, on IMDB, it was among the lowest-rated instalments of the series.

True Detective: Night Country is available to watch on Max in the US and on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK.