Noah Hawley’s ambitious adaptation of the Coen Brothers’ modern classic Fargo was a success by practically every measure available to television networks today, raking in 18 Emmy nominations, strong viewing numbers and critical acclaim, so it’s not at all surprising that FX has opted to renew the series for a second season of 10 episodes.
However, given the tidy way in which Hawley concluded the first season of Fargo, FX is eyeing the series as a True Detective-style anthology series, telling a different “true crime” tale with an all-new cast of characters and time period every season. Said FX CEO John Landgraf:
“We could not be more proud of Fargo. Noah’s audacious, bordering on hubristic riff on my favorite Coen brothers film earned 18 Emmy nominations — the most for a single program in our history. Fargo was nothing short of breathtaking and we look forward to the next installment.”
Hawley previously stated that he envisioned the second season of Fargo following a new cast of characters, so don’t expect Alison Tolman or Colin Hanks to return. And of course, we won’t be seeing any more of Martin Freeman or Billy Bob Thornton, but that shouldn’t be news to anyone who watched the series. Back in April, Hawley said that the future for Fargo was bright, and that:
“I could probably see my way clear in doing a third 10-hour movie, but I don’t really know past that if it’s worth doing or whether it’s just good to move on to the next thing. It’s a great new option that you have in television: to tell different stories and move around from story to story as opposed to locking into 10 seasons.”
No word yet on when Fargo will return. As with the first season, Hawley is expected to pen all 10 episodes of the second season, and it will undoubtedly take some time for him to come up with a suitably terrific story. But we’ll all be waiting, with bated breath.
News of the Fargo pickup came at the same time FX announced a seven-episode fifth season of Louis C.K.’s comedy Louie was also on the way, and set for spring of 2015. Said Landgraf of that show:
“Louie’s fourth season was once again groundbreaking. Sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking – always thought provoking. The show went to narrative and cinematic places no comedy has gone before and we look forward to seeing what Louis comes up with next.”