Real vs Reel: Is True Detective season 4 a true story based on disappearance of Tsalal Arctic's crew?

True Detective Season 4 is an original story created by Issa Lopez revolving around two detectives probing the mysterious disappearance in Alaska City.

OTT True Detective Season 4 True Detective Season 4 True Story

After back-to-back success, critically acclaimed detective-thriller True Detective Season 4 started to stream on HBO & Max on January 14, 2024. Created by Issa Lopez, True Detective Season 4 revolves around two detectives who go on to investigate the mysterious disappearance of the Tsalal Arctic Research Station's crew over Christmas. Apart from its impeccable storyline, True Detective Season 4 features multiple critically acclaimed starcast. Talking about starcast, True Detective Season 4 features Jodie Foster as Liz Danvers, Kali Reis as Evangeline Navarro, Fiona Shaw as Rose Aguineau, Finn Bennett as Officer Peter Prior, Isabella Star LaBlanc as Leah Danvers, and more in the leading roles. Since the storyline is based in Alaska, the question arises whether True Detective Season 4 is a true story or True Detective Season 4 is a real story or not. Below is what we know about True Detective Season 4 True Story- 

 

Is True Detective Season 4 a true story?

 

The answer is yes and no at the same time. True Detective Season 4 is an original story created by Issa Lopez revolving around two detectives probing the mysterious disappearance in Alaska City. Although the story may have been fictionalized by the maker, Issa Lopez in one of her interviews explained that she made the series based her own real-life experiences. Issa Lopez was inspired two real-life incidents- Mary Celeste case and  Dyatlov Pass Incident. 

 

Talking about Mary Celeste case, it was a Canadian built merchant brigantine that was discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores Islands on December 4, 1872. As per reports, the Canadian brigantine Dei Gratia found her in a dishevelled but seaworthy condition under partial sail and with her lifeboat missing.

 

The ship had sailed from New York to Italy. Onboard were 11 people- the captain, his wife, their two-year-old daughter, and eight crew members. Just a few weeks later, a British ship came across the Mary Celeste near Portugal – and, well, no one was on it. While there was water in the hold, the vessel was undamaged, with its six months' worth stock of food still intact. Only one lifeboat was missing, which has sparked all kinds of theories as to what became of its passengers, from earthquakes and icebergs to pirates and sea monsters, over the past 150 years.

 

Talking about Dyatlov Pass Incident, it was an event in which nine Soviet hikers died in the northern Ural Mountains between February 1 and 2, 1959, under mysterious circumstances. The experienced trekking group from the Ural Polytechnical Institute, led by Igor Dyatlov, had established a camp on the eastern slopes of Kholat Syakhl in the Russian SFSR of the Soviet Union. Overnight, something caused them to cut their way out of their tent and flee the campsite while inadequately dressed for the heavy snowfall and sub-zero temperatures.

 

In 2020, it was reportedly reached to a conclusion that a slab of avalanche had supposedly caused the death of the hikers, the case's odd and gory details have captured people's imaginations over the years.

Watch on YouTube

Trending