Dark secrets lie deep beneath the icy surface in HBO’s detective anthology drama True Detective: Night Country. Set in the frigid fictional town of Ennis, Alaska, the series follows agents Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis), who team up after a group of scientists disappear in the middle of the night and are subsequently found dead, their frozen bodies trapped in the snow. The investigation into their deaths leads the pair to uncover a conspiracy within a network of icy tunnels. Here, production designer Daniel Taylor talks to Deadline about how he conceptualized Iceland’s dark secrets and frigid caves to portray a small Alaskan town.

DEADLINE: You met Issa López a while ago on a British production, right? And then she referred you to True Detective?

DANIEL TAYLOR: Exactly. I work with her on a Sky Atlantic show, and she came in and did a couple of episodes and we hit it off. I had to build her a huge set, a sort of two-story Game of Thrones gallery, which was great fun. Because we got on so well, she said, "Listen, there's a chance that True Detective might happen. I'm writing the show, I'm directing it, would you like to come on?" And I said, "Yeah, that would be really cool, thanks." Here [in the UK], I know True Detective has a huge following in the US, but it's just as big here as it is there. It has an extraordinary presence in terms of a pinnacle of filmmaking. So to have the chance to meet her, to meet the producers, to meet HBO, was really a once in a lifetime opportunity.

DEADLINE: When you got the script, how did you interpret it in your head? Were you inspired by some music or Pinterest mood boards first?