If you haven’t watched Fargo yet, you are missing some great television. The somewhat jarring final episode aside, it had a fantastic first season. Billy Bob Thornton owned the show with his stony face and painful haircut. But it says something that he didn’t manage to overshadow the rest of the cast and it was a treat, especially if you are a fan of the Coen brothers’ cold mid-western world. Naturally Fargo is set to return for a second season, but following in the footsteps of American Horror Story and True Detective, it will change gears completely.
The first season took place in 2006, but season 2 jumps back nearly three decades to 1979. Still based in the region, it will focus on Sioux Falls and an event that is mentioned in the first season. This lines up with the film: it also took place in the region around the city of Fargo, but in the mid-Eighties.
So the show will need new characters and Kirsten Dunst has signed up, as well as Jesse Plemons, best known for his role in Breaking Bad‘s last two seasons.
They join Keith Carradine, who played the diner owner in the first season. But he may one of few returning characters. Negotiations for roles are said to be on with Nick Offerman and Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice).
Today’s big announcement fleshes out a few more details related to the series. Kirsten Dunst is set to play Peggy Blomquist, a beautician with big city dreams whose shop actually happens to be in a small town. She’ll be married to a man named Ed, who will be played by Jesse Plemons. Plemons is a butcher’s assistant who spends a lot of time dealing with his troubled wife, who will be having trouble dealing with societal expectations.
Coen fans might also find it interesting that season 2 will lean more towards two other classics:
Where the first season of “Fargo” drew from the Coen Brothers films “Fargo,” “No Country for Old Men” and “A Serious Man,” the sophomore run will be inspired by “Fargo,” “Miller’s Crossing” and “The Man Who Wasn’t There,” Hawley said.
“So let the internet speculation begin,” the producer joked.
Sadly Billy Bob Thorton and Martin Freeman, whose crime conspiracy stoked the first season, won’t be returning. Those are some big shoes to fill. I wonder if the Coens might sneak in one of their other big name collaborators, such as George Clooney, Gabriel Byrne or Mr. Coen bros himself, John Goodman?
Last Updated: December 11, 2014
