Fargo Season 2: The Next Chapter

Fargo Season 2
Image Credit: Chris Large/FX
Fargo Season 2
Patrick Wilson as Lou Solverson
Image Credit: Mathias Clamer/FX

Fargo is more than a town. “The word itself is so evocative of a place, the tundra where civilization meets the wilderness,” says series executive producer, showrunner and director Noah Hawley. “It’s evocative of a kind of story, a true-crime story that isn’t true, where truth is stranger than fiction.” When Fargo premiered last season on FX, the limited-run series, based loosely on the Coen brothers’ 1996 Oscar-winning film, became a runaway hit, a critical darling and a magnet for accolades — including a whopping 18 Emmy nominations.

But if you worry about the series facing a sophomore slump, don’t. This season is even better than the original and moves forward by jumping back in time. In 1979, life in the quiet town of Luverne, Minn., is shaken by the impending visit of a presidential nominee, the murder of three people in a nearby eatery, a gang turf war and, ultimately, the “Sioux Falls Massacre” — an event alluded to in the series’ first season. Also carrying over from Season 1 is the character of Lou Solverson (played in Season 1 by Keith Carradine, and now by Patrick Wilson). In the rewind from 2006 to 1970, Solverson is a young state trooper, Vietnam veteran, husband of an ailing wife and father of a young daughter. When the series’ second chapter was announced, Hawley promised clues from Season 1, nods to the film, references to the Coens’ neo-noir films Miller’s Crossing and The Man Who Wasn’t There, and perhaps a few hints about Season 3.

Hollywood clamored for the series’ toothsome parts, and Season 2 features restrained and nuanced performances from a gifted cast that includes Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Ted Danson, Patrick Wilson, Jean Smart and Jeffrey Donovan. Actor Bokeem Woodbine calls his role as flamboyant gangster Mike Milligan “a gift from the actor gods.” But in reality, Fargo is a gift for actors and audience alike.

Fargo > FX > Mondays beginning Oct. 12

Pictured: .  Image Credit: Chris Large/FX

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