‘True Detective’ Creator Nic Pizzolatto Dragged as ‘Pathetic and Petty,’ ‘Sore Loser’ for Dissing Season 4

February 19, 2024 @ 9:18 PM

“True Detective” creator Nic Pizzolatto, who oversaw the first three seasons of the acclaimed HBO limited series, again promoted criticisms of the fourth season, “Night Country,” which wrapped on Sunday under the leadership of Issa López.

Fans of the show weren’t having it.

“‘True Detective’s’ fourth season was so bad, it was the most-watched season of the show ever,” NPR TV critic Eric Deggans wrote, retweeting screenshots from Pizzolatto’s Instagram posts sharing fan’s discontent with the “Night Country” finale. “Instead, of counting his money and thanking Issa López for rescuing his franchise with an amazing series, Nic Pizzolato seems determined to show what a sore loser he is.”

You may have liked the ‘True Detective’ finale or you may have hated the ‘True Detective’ finale,” New Republic TV critic Phillip Maciak posted on X. “But one thing is indisputable: Nic Pizzolatto is on Instagram, posting other people’s stories about how Issa López ruined the franchise like an absolutely enormous baby.”

Film and TV journalist Rendy Jones assessed that the franchise creator is “too grown to look this pathetic and petty.”

“You can just not care and get your exec producer bag in silence. Now you’re just looking like a child,” Jones wrote.

Other “Night Country” fans were more venomous in their takedowns, with journalist Brian Richards posting, “Nic Pizzolatto (and all of the f–kboys and pick-mes on here) can shut the f–k up and have all of the damn seats.”

On Monday afternoon, Pizzolatto reshared — and later deleted — posts from “True Detective” fans denouncing “Night Country” as featuring “some of the sloppiest writing I’ve ever watched.”

It’s not the first time Pizzolatto has been slyly critical of the season, either. Responding to fan concerns on reddit last month, the series creator wiped his hands clean of their dissatisfaction with “Night Country,” writing, “Can’t blame me.”

López soon enough responded in kind.

“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,” she said in an interview with Vulture. “I wrote this with profound love for the work he made and love for the people that loved it.”

You can view screenshots of Pizzolatto’s Instagram story, along with tweets of “Night Country” fans running to López’s defense, below.

True Detective’s 4th season was so bad, it was the most-watched season of the show EVER. Instead, of counting his money and thanking Issa Lopez for rescuing his franchise w/an amazing series, Nic Pizzolato seems determined to show what a sore loser he is. https://t.co/qr8bYPp96U https://t.co/4TlL6OSJ4U

— Eric Deggans at NPR (@Deggans) February 20, 2024

You may have liked the TRUE DETECTIVE finale or you may have hated the TRUE DETECTIVE finale, but one thing is indisputable: Nic Pizzolatto is on Instagram, posting other people’s stories about how Issa López ruined the franchise like an absolutely enormous baby.

— Phillip Maciak (@pjmaciak) February 20, 2024

nic pizzolatto is too grown to look this pathetic and petty. you can just not care and get your exec producer bag in silence. now you’re just looking like a child.

— Rendy (@rendy_jones) February 20, 2024

— hellresidentNY 🖤 (@hellresidentNY) February 20, 2024

I applaud #IssaLopez for coming in and resurrecting the franchise after Nic Pizzolatto’s 2 unsuccessful attempts to recapture the 1st season’s glory. The season certainly wasn’t perfect but it was infinitely more engaging and stimulating than the last 2.

➡️ pic.twitter.com/PcnidXTPb2

— Richard (@RichardReflects) February 19, 2024

nic pizzolatto is making it impossible for me to be an ethical hater

— bald ann dowd (@ali_sivi) February 20, 2024

Nic Pizzolatto: https://t.co/TxX6u4QuSK pic.twitter.com/9kyWO8XFks

— On Cinema On Anger (@OnCinemaOnAnger) February 19, 2024

Nic Pizzolatto should be more worried that he hasn’t made anything good in the past decade since #TrueDetective Season 1 https://t.co/joko4ph4fq

— wilfred (@wilflucas) February 20, 2024

Nic Pizzolatto having a meltdown on instagram because the new season of True Detective he wasn’t involved in dared to reference his work is wild

— Alex (@BarnOfDollars) February 20, 2024

I try not to use the word “bitch” to refer to a person, as I think that it promotes a really negative stereotype about femininity regardless of whom it’s in reference to.

That said, Nic Pizzolatto is being an astonishingly whiny little bitch.

— la.donna.pietra (@ladonnapietra) February 20, 2024

nic pizzolatto has coasted more on one season of good television than anyone since sharon osbourne

— ian (@ianisaguy) February 20, 2024