True Detective: Season Five — Has the HBO Anthology Series Been Cancelled or Renewed?

(Photo: HBO)

Vulture Watch

What dangers lurk in the darkness of a polar night? Has the True Detective TV show been cancelled or renewed for a fifth season on HBO? The television vulture is watching all the latest cancellation and renewal news, so this page is the place to track the status of True Detective, season five. Bookmark it, or subscribe for the latest updates. Remember, the television vulture is watching your shows. Are you?  
 

What’s This TV Show About?

An anthology crime drama series airing on the HBO cable channel, the True Detective TV show features a different setting, cast, and mystery each season. The fourth season was written and directed by Issa López and stars Jodie Foster, Kali Reis, Fiona Shaw, Finn Bennett, Isabella Star Lablanc, Aka Niviâna, Anna Lambe, and Joel D. Montgrand with Christopher Eccleston, and John Hawkes. The story takes place in Ennis, Alaska. The fictional town experiences polar nights with days of darkness around the winter solstice each year. Following the final sunset of the year, the eight scientists who operated the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanished without a trace. To solve the case, Police Chief Liz Danvers (Foster) must re-team with her estranged partner, Detective Evangeline Navarro (Reis). Evangeline has spent years investigating the murder of a Native midwife (Pedersen). When it becomes clear that the two cases are connected, the two reluctantly work together.
 

Season Four Ratings

The fourth season of True Detective averages a 0.10 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 612,000 viewers in the live+same day ratings (including DVR playback through 3:00 AM). Compared to season three, that’s down by 73% in the demo and down by 51% in viewership. While these numbers don’t include further delayed or streaming viewing, they are a very good indicator of how a show is performing, especially when compared to others on the same channel. There can be other economic factors involved in a show’s fate, but typically the higher-rated series are renewed and the lower-rated ones are cancelled. Find out how True Detective stacks up against other HBO TV shows.
 

Telly’s Take

Will HBO cancel or renew True Detective for season five? It’s been several years between seasons of this series, so it’s no surprise that the ratings are way down. TV viewing habits have changed a lot in that time. Because it’s an anthology series, HBO can attract big names who wouldn’t be willing to commit to playing the same role for multiple seasons. The seasons can be hit or miss, but I suspect they help pull in subscribers. I see this as a showcase series that the network will keep going for a while. I’ll update this page with breaking developments. Subscribe for free alerts on True Detective cancellation or renewal news.

2/23/24 update: True Detective has been renewed for a fifth season on HBO.
 

True Detective Cancellation & Renewal Related Links

• TV show ratings are still important. Follow True Detective‘s weekly ups and downs.

• Check the rankings for other HBO TV shows.

• How do this show’s ratings compare to other channels’ TV shows?

• Find more True Detective TV series news or other HBO TV show news.

• Explore the HBO status page and other TV show status pages.

• Check out our lists of already cancelled and ended TV shows.

What do you think? Are you glad the True Detective TV show has been renewed for a fifth season? How would you feel if HBO had cancelled this TV series instead?