FX’s Fargo renewed for second season — but there’s a big catch
With 18 Emmy nominations, the announcement that FX’s Fargo is coming back for a second season is no big surprise… But it’s still exciting news, don’t ya know!
“We could not be more proud of Fargo,” FX CEO John Landgraf said in a statement on Monday. “Noah (Hawley)’s audacious, bordering on hubristic riff on my favorite Coen brothers film earned 18 Emmy nominations, the most of a single program in our history. Fargo was nothing short of breathtaking and we look forward to the next installment.”
The only catch is that most — if not all — of the actors won’t return. (Colin Hanks and Allison Tolman previously said they wanted to participate in the second season, so it sounds like the decision comes from higher-ups.)
“It’s kind of heartbreaking from my standpoint, given how much I loved the actors,” Landgraf said of the first-season stars, a group that also included Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman. “Fargo demands, I think, a level of realism, no matter how unhinged and funny it is at times. I don’t think we felt we could reintroduce those actors as new characters. We had to create a new situation.”
The silver lining is that this leaves room for a new set of amazing actors who appreciate mini-series. (See: Matthew McConaughey in True Detective!)
“You can get a stellar cast because you’re not asking them to commit to multiple seasons,” he said. “It’s like a movie for them.”
As for how additional seasons will work, FX’s Landgraf explained he looks at the anthology as a big, leather-bound book about “The History of True Crime in the Midwest.” In the text, the Coen brothers’ 1996 film is the first chapter and the first season of the TV show is the second chapter… The second season will continue in the same vein as the previous two versions while remaining distinct.
The second season of Fargo will likely air in Fall 2015.
