FX's FARGO Discussion Thread

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Fargo season 2 is easily the best show on TV right now. Go see it. Season 2 is pretty much standalone, so don't worry if you haven't seen season 1 yet. Just dive straight into season 2.


Update: October 12, 205

Critics' Reviews for FARGO: SEASON 2

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% Approval Rating (58 out of 58 critics like it)

Consensus: Season two of Fargo retains all the elements that made the series an award-winning hit, successfully delivering another stellar saga powered by fascinating characters, cheeky cynicism, and just a touch of the absurd.

New York Magazine - 4/5
While taking place 17 years prior, this ostensible prequel to last year’s “mini-series” feels like a leap forward in tone and texture. A lot of that can be credited to writer–executive producer Noah Hawley fine-tuning the balance of slack humor and foreboding. Fargo 2.0 is, thus far, more black than bleak comedy. It’d be hard not to wince at what’s next if it weren’t so much fun watching everyone fret in their knit sweaters, mulling the woes of wasted meat.


Daily Telegraph - 4/5
This opener didn’t immediately grab viewers by the puffy parka lapels. The opening 10 minutes meandered somewhat bafflingly, before the story sparked into action to become a pacy thrill-ride. It felt like an arthouse take on a cowboy film, with goodies and baddies being slowly drawn together for a reckoning. Last year’s debut series was an unexpected treat, going on to win a cabinet full of Emmy and Golden Globe gongs. This follow-up is already equally promising. Oh yah, you betcha.


IGN Movies - 9.5/10
Fargo: Season 2 improves upon everything that works in Season 1 to deliver a funnier, tighter and stronger new story with a great cast and fantastic crew. The series never takes itself too seriously and isn't afraid to have a little fun. The attention to the smallest details of the '70s and the midwest make the setting as much a character as any of the other players in the story. Oozing with confidence, the Season 2 premiere kicks off what is sure to be a great new year of Fargo.


Los Angeles Times - Good
To its credit, “Fargo” seems completely uninterested in trying to live up to what it accomplished in its tremendous debut season and is all the better for it. A product of the era it's set in, flush with lurid colors, split screens and footage of Jimmy Carter speeches, yet the most effective weapon in its arsenal is the way it represents the atmosphere of both the time period and the Midwest in its simple execution of the stories that drive the entire season.

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Update: July 14, 2015

First Trailer and Synopsis for FX's FARGO Season 2 Released

Synopsis: The all new “true crime” case of Fargo’s new chapter travels back to 1979 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Luverne, Minnesota, where a young State Police Officer “Lou Solverson” (Wilson), recently back from Vietnam, investigates a case involving a local crime gang and a major Mob syndicate. Helping him piece things together is his father-in-law, “Sheriff Hank Larsson” (Danson). The investigation will lead them to a colorful cast of characters that includes “Karl Weathers” (Nick Offerman), the town lawyer of Luverne, Minnesota. A Korean War vet, Karl is a flowery drunk blessed with the gift of gab and the eloquence of a true con artist.

Three-time Emmy winner Brad Garrett will play “Joe Bulo,” the front man for the northern expansion of a Kansas City crime syndicate. The new face of corporate crime, Joe’s bringing a Walmart mentality to small town America. His number two is “Mike Milligan” (Bokeem Woodbine). Part enforcer, part detective, Mike is always smiling – but the joke is usually on you. Bulo and his crew have their sights set on the Gerhardt crime family in Fargo, currently led by matriarch “Floyd Gerhardt” (Smart).

With her husband at death’s door, Floyd takes over the family business, frustrating her eldest son, “Dodd Gerhardt” (Jeffrey Donovan). An impatient hothead with a cruel streak to match his ambitions, Dodd can’t wait for both his parents to die so he can take over and expand their business from kingdom to empire. “Bear Gerhardt” (Angus Sampson) is the middle son, an intimidatingly large man who, although inarticulate, is the most decent of his clan. “Rye Gerhardt” (Kieran Culkin), the youngest of the Gerhardt clan, views himself as a big shot, but in reality he’s just a small dog who barks big. Fargo returns this September on FX.

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FARGO Season 2 Trailer and Synopsis Hit All the Right Marks
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Update: March 25, 2015

Bruce Campbell to Play Ronald Reagan in FARGO Season 2

Bruce Campbell as Ronald Reagan?! Oh, you betcha. The Burn Notice vet has been cast as a pre-POTUS Reagan in Fargo‘s forthcoming second season, TVLine has learned exclusively.

Taking place in the late 1970s, Season 2 — a prequel to Season 1 that stars Patrick Wilson as a younger version of Keith Carradine’s Lou Solverson — is set against “the cultural transformation that was going on at that time,” as well as Reagan’s first campaign for President of the United States, previewed FX Networks CEO John Landgraf back in January. “He’s on his first campaign [and he] makes a swing through Fargo. Some of the characters have some interactions with him. And some of his movies are also a part of the show.”

It’s unclear if one of those folks interacting with Campbell’s Gipper will be former Burn Notice co-star Jeffrey Donovan, who is set to recur in Fargo‘s second season. Campbell, who recently signed on to reprise his role as Ash in Starz’ 10-episode Ash Vs. Evil Dead series, will appear in one episode.

Fun fact: Campbell made an unbilled cameo in the big-screen Fargo. In the kidnappers’ cabin, he can be briefly seen on the TV.


Bruce Campbell Elected to Play President Ronald Reagan in FARGO Season 2
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Update: January 28, 2015

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA's Michael Hogan Joins FARGO Season 2

Battlestar Galactica veteran Michael Hogan is taking on an earthier role for his next project. Hogan, who played Colonel Saul Tigh on Battlestar Galactica, has been cast in Season 2 of FX’s anthology series Fargo. Hogan’s post-Battlestar work includes roles on Falling Skies, Teen Wolf, The Tomorrow People and Arctic Air.

Hogan will play Otto Gerhardt, a first generation immigrant from Germany who took over his father’s small trucking business and, through a mix of brutality and sheer will, turned it into a criminal empire that spans the upper Midwest. But he recently had a stroke and is now confined to a wheelchair, his every need taken care of by Indian servants. Gerhardt has lost the ability to speak or feed himself or use the bathroom by himself. But he's too mean to die.

Set in 1979, Season 2 of Fargo will focus on Lou Solverson (played by Keith Carradine in the first season, but inhabited by Patrick Wilson for the second run). The upcoming sophomore season will portray Solverson as a veteran who, four years back from Vietnam, is now a Minnesota state patrolman and devoted husband. Ted Danson, Jean Smart, Kirsten Dunst and Breaking Bad alum Jesse Plemons have also been cast in the upcoming season.


‘Fargo’ Casts ‘Battlestar Galactica’ Alum Michael Hogan for Season 2 (Exclusive)
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Update: January 8, 2015

Patrick Wilson, Ted Danson and More Join FARGO Season 2

Press Release: Golden Globe nominated actor Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring), multiple Emmy and Golden Globe winner Ted Danson, and multiple Emmy winner Jean Smart have signed on to star in the second installment of FX’s Emmy and AFI Award winning miniseries franchise Fargo, Wilson, Danson and Smart join previously announced leads Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons. Production on Fargo will begin in Calgary on January 19 and the 10-episode anthology miniseries is slated to premiere next fall on FX.

Patrick Wilson will star as “Lou Solverson,” a clean cut Minnesota State Patrolman, four years back from Vietnam, where he served in the Navy. A humble and competent man, Lou is a devoted husband to his wife “Betsy” (yet to be cast), and father to four-year-old “Molly” (yet to be cast). Ted Danson will play “Hank Larsson,” the Sheriff of Rock County, Minnesota. An unflappable WWII vet who embodies a certain cowboy poetry, Hank is Lou’s father-in-law.Jean Smart will play “Floyd Gerhardt,” the matriarch of the Gerhardt crime family. She’s stood by her husband’s side for 40 years, but now that he’s out of the picture she thinks it’s her turn to run things.

Synopsis: The all new “true crime” case of Fargo’s new chapter travels back to 1979 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Luverne, Minnesota, where a young State Police Officer “Lou Solverson” (Wilson), recently back from Vietnam, investigates a case involving a local crime gang and a major Mob syndicate. Helping him piece things together is his father-in-law, “Sheriff Hank Larsson” (Danson). The investigation will lead them to a colorful cast of characters that includes “Karl Weathers” (Nick Offerman), the town lawyer of Luverne, Minnesota.

A Korean War vet, Karl is a flowery drunk blessed with the gift of gab and the eloquence of a true con artist. Three-time Emmy winner Brad Garrett will play “Joe Bulo,” the front man for the northern expansion of a Kansas City crime syndicate. The new face of corporate crime, Joe’s bringing a Walmart mentality to small town America. His number two is “Mike Milligan” (Bokeem Woodbine). Part enforcer, part detective, Mike is always smiling – but the joke is usually on you. Bulo and his crew have their sights set on the Gerhardt crime family in Fargo, currently led by matriarch “Floyd Gerhardt” (Smart).

With her husband at death’s door, Floyd takes over the family business, frustrating her eldest son, “Dodd Gerhardt” (Jeffrey Donovan). An impatient hothead with a cruel streak to match his ambitions, Dodd can’t wait for both his parents to die so he can take over and expand their business from kingdom to empire. “Bear Gerhardt” (Angus Sampson) is the middle son, an intimidatingly large man who, although inarticulate, is the most decent of his clan. “Rye Gerhardt” (Kieran Culkin), the youngest of the Gerhardt clan, views himself as a big shot, but in reality he’s just a small dog who barks big.


Patrick Wilson, Ted Danson and More Join FARGO Season 2; Full Synopsis Released

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Update: December 4, 2014

Jeffrey Donovan Joins FARGO Season 2; Nick Offerman Eyed

Jeffrey Donovan is packing his bags for Fargo, and Nick Offerman could be joining him. Burn Notice star Donovan is nearing a deal to join the second season of FX's anthology series Fargo, while Parks and Recreation star Offerman has an offer to join the cast, though he's not currently in negotiations, multiple individuals with knowledge of the castings told TheWrap on Wednesday.

Donovan, whose credits also include Crossing Jordan and Law & Order, has been cast in the role of Dodd. The second season of the adaptation of the Coen Brothers’ iconic film will also feature Rachel Keller, who will play the role of Simone in the Noah Hawley-created series. In addition to the castings of Donovan and Keller, another individual with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap that Mike Bradecich (Mighty Med) and Allan Dobrescu are also in contention for roles in the series. Should Offerman join the cast, he would play the role of Carl.

As Hawley revealed at the Television Critics Association press tour in July, the second iteration of Fargo will take place in 1979 and feature a young Lou Solverson (played by Keith Carradine in the first season) as a 33-year-old veteran who recently arrived home from the Vietnam war.


Jeffrey Donovan JoinsFARGO Season 2; Nick Offerman Sought for Role (Exclusive)
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Update: July 21, 2014

FARGO Season 2 Will Be a Prequel, Bringing Back Lou Solverson

A rare example of instant gratification: Producers of FX's Fargo outlined details of the miniseries' 2015 return just a few hours after the network picked it up for another season. Noah Hawley and Warren Littlefield appeared at the Television Critics Association on Monday evening — and though it's too early to say too much on Fargo's return, what they did say gave away the time period, locale and even one character: Keith Carradine's Lou Solverson.

No, Carradine will not be reprising the role. Instead, the show will cast a younger man to revisit the 1979 Sioux Falls incident referenced in "A Fox, a Rabbit, and a Cabbage" when Molly's (Allison Tolman) father was still a state trooper. Action in the season, according to Hawley, will take place in Fargo, N.D., Sioux Falls, S.D., and Luverne, Minn.

"I spoke to Allison Tolman this morning and told her that unless she can channel her four-year-old self, we wouldn't be able to have her in season two," said Hawley, insisting that no cast would be returning. "Lou [is now] a 33-year-old man, recently back from Vietnam. We would meet Molly's mother, and we may learn what happened to her."

There will likely be a slight shift in the Coen Brothers' sensibility. Hawley said that the tone of his original source material also is shifting: "If the first season, the three [influences] were Fargo, No Country Old Men and A Serious Man, this year we are in Fargo, Miller's Crossing and The Man Who Wasn't There."


'Fargo' Season 2 Moves to the '70s, Bringing Back at Least One Character
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Update: July 21, 2014

FARGO Renewed for 2nd Season with an All-New Cast

FX is returning to Fargo. Two weeks after Noah Hawley's anthology series garnered 18 Emmy nominations, FX has renewed the series for a second season, FX announced Monday during its portion of the Television Critics Association's summer press tour, which also included a renewal for comedy favorite Louie. The series will be back for a new "true crime" story of 10 episodes with an all-new cast of characters and new time period. Season two will debut no sooner than the fall of 2015.

"We could not be more proud of Fargo," said FX CEO John Landgraf. "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 (My Generation) created the series as a 10-episode closed-ended movie-like story that would reboot itself every season in a fashion similar to FX's ever-changing American Horror Story. [posted first by Crono139]


FX Renews FARGO for a 2nd Season with New Standalone Story and an All-New Cast
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Update: June 19, 2014

FARGO, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK Top Critics' Choice Awards

Television awards season kicked off Thursday night with the fourth annual Television Critics Awards, where Netflix's Orange Is the New Black and FX's Fargo were the big winners, taking home three awards apiece. Fargo won Best Mini-Series, Best Actor for Billy Bob Thornton and Best Supporting Actress for Allison Tolman. Breaking Bad captured the best drama series honor. The awards show, presented by the Broadcast Television Journalists Association at the Beverly Hilton, made its network television debut on The CW and was hosted by Cedric the Entertainer.

Allison Janney delivered perhaps the most memorable opening line of the night, saying, "I just came," when accepting her best guest performer in a drama series honor for Showtime's Masters of Sex. Janney was honored again when she tied with Orange Is the New Black's Kate Mulgrew for best supporting actress in a comedy series. Ahead of the ceremony, FX led the network pack with 19 nods, followed by HBO with 18. Five series topped the list with six nominations apiece: CBS' The Big Bang Theory and The Good Wife, FX's Fargo, Masters of Sex and HBO's The Normal Heart.


FX's Fargo and Netflix's Orange Is The New Black Top Critics' Choice Television Awards 2014
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New Full Trailer for FX’s FARGO Starring Billy Bob Thornton

FX has released a new trailer for their upcoming 10-episode limited series, Fargo. Based on the classic Coen Brothers‘ film of the same name, the series isn’t a straight adaptation, but rather a story that takes place in the same world and with a similar tone. The plot centers on “a drifter named Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton), who arrives in small-town Minnesota and influences the population with his malice and violence, including put-upon insurance salesman Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman).”

As you can see from the trailer, Lester is reminiscent of William H. Macy‘s Jerry Lundegaard and Allison Tolman‘s cop could be along the lines of Frances McDormand‘s Marge Gunderson. However it lines up, the dark comedy seems very much alive (the Coens are executive producers), and this is definitely one of the must-see series of the spring. The series also stars Colin Hanks, Bob Odenkirk, Kate Walsh, Adam Goldberg, Oliver Platt, Glenn Howerton, Jordan Peele, Keegan-Michael Key, Joey King, and Julie Ann Emery. Fargo premiers April 15th.




New Full Trailer for FX’s FARGO Starring Billy Bob Thornton

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Critics TV spot for FX's Fargo:

 

[KOQ24]

is freeman supposed to play macys character?

he acted too much like macy in that trailer

 

[jefferz]

The show is called Fargo but takes place in Bemidji, MN....,

 

[fingercuffs]

I only found out what a decent cast it had last week, new nothing about Odenkirk and Freeman so I'm quite excited for tonight.

 

[heavy_hands]

I don't watch many shows but will be checking this out for sure.

 

[KOQ24]

The show is called Fargo but takes place in Bemidji, MN....,

hmmm,maybe they end up in fargo

 

[Crono139]

I'm hooked.

Spoiler

5 deaths in the first episode?

 

[R0NIN]

Martin freeman acting his ass of.

 

[daj]

The first episode was very clever and entertaining . Billy Bob nailed his role and gotta love Bilbo Baggins. The comedy aspects worked real well. Looking forward to how the season goes

 

[AGGAMEMNON66]

Will have to watch the 1st episode. Meant to make a thread on this show a few weeks ago but got busy.

 

[Terry Noonan]

Good first episode.

 

[hohner]

Really liked that first episode. I'm definitely going to try and catch the whole series as it airs.

 

[IceAndFire**]

Amazing pilot episode.

 

[Absolute Power]

I'll definitely give this a shot tomorrow. The reviews are looking good

 

[CaptainPunch]

There be dragons here.

 

[Chernabog]

Show looks promising after watching the first episode. Will watch the second.

SPOILER:

Spoiler

Was shocked when the chief was killed, thought he would be in it for the long run

 

[KOQ24]

watching 1st EP tonight