Our story picks up in an idyllic corner of Minnesota, where a seemingly disparate group of characters are suddenly thrust together following a single violent event, upending their lives and setting off a blood-soaked quest for vengeance that unravels over the course of ten or so tense and often hilarious episodes.
Sound familiar? Welcome to the wacky world of Fargo, where trouble is usually lurking just around the corner, and all is not as it seems.
But what exactly is Fargo? Why is Fargo? How is Fargo?
It’s impossible to answer these questions without first acknowledging the reason why we’re all here in the first place - specifically a certain pair of brothers with a wickedly dry sense of humour that go by the name of Joel and Ethan Coen. Their original 1996 Oscar winning film not only provided the inspiration for the show, but the Coens' entire visual aesthetic and thematic sensibilities have been seamlessly woven into the very fabric of Fargo. After all, when your surname is used to describe a particular brand of off kilter comedy, you know you’ve had a sizable impact on popular culture.
And if the Coens created the cult of Fargo, then writer, director and showrunner Noah Hawley is the current artist in residence. It was never a certainty that this TV iteration would even sustain itself, with anthology series being somewhat of a rarity back in 2014 when the series first hit our screens. Yet time and time again, Hawley has returned to this strange universe in what many initially assumed would be a one and done story.
Nine years and four distinct time periods later, we once again find ourselves in the familiar world of snow drenched sidewalks and cross stitch sweaters with the show’s standalone fifth season.
Set in 2019, the new Fargo centres around North Dakota Sheriff Roy Tillman, a God-fearing lawman played by Jon Hamm, who is on the hunt for a woman named Dorothy “Dot” Lyon (played with devilish charm by Juno Temple). On the surface, Dot appears to be living like any other perfectly content Midwestern housewife, but we soon realise she’s hiding more than a few skeletons in her closet, which she is intent on keeping hidden from her doting husband and young daughter.
Dot is the kind of put-upon mother who insists she’s not out looking for any trouble, but sure enough, trouble comes knocking when a series of unfortunate events sees her and Sheriff Tillman headed on a deadly collision course toward one another in the most Fargo way possible.
Juno Temple in the new season of 'Fargo'. Credit: FX
And it’s that pitch-perfect dialogue for which Fargo has perhaps become most well-known - where the smartest man or woman in the room also happens to be the most psychopathic - prone to philosophical musings in between sudden fits of rage.
The latest addition to Fargo’s rogues' gallery is the character of Ole Munch, a self-confessed nihilist with a curious turn of phrase played by British actor Sam Spruell. Standing over six feet tall and sporting a bizarre bowl cut, he carves a formidable figure on screen, yet somehow exudes a strange sort of empathy.
He joins a murderous roster of morally grey hitmen in the series who often provide laugh-out-loud moments that undercut even the most serious scenes, whether it be a gas station attendant deploying an ill-fated air horn, or a hapless home invader getting his comeuppance in a violent homage to Home Alone.
Of course much of Fargo’s humour can simply be attributed to the endlessly endearing accents, with the film and the show having popularised phrases like “Oh yah” or “You betcha”, and featuring characters who finish every second sentence with an upward inflection - don’t cha know!
The latest season even cold opens with a title card explaining the term “Minnesota nice”, which essentially boils down to “an aggressively pleasant demeanour, often forced, in which a person is chipper and self-effacing, no matter how bad things get” - an apt description which could almost serve as a logline for the entire show.
So what exactly is the secret to Fargo’s long lasting success: Is it the razor sharp gags? The quirky characters? Or the ultra-specific setting in which the chaos all takes place?
It’s hard not to think back to the original film's iconic poster - in which a snowy vista is recreated in the style of a quaint cross stitch, but offset by the unmistakable image of a body lying face down in the snow along with the words ‘a homespun murder story’.
This image more than anything represents the endless appeal of Fargo - a brilliantly conceived contradiction, where tragedy and comedy go hand in hand.
Fargo premieres from Wednesday 22 November exclusively on SBS On Demand and at 9:20pm on SBS, fast-tracked from the US.
