[dropcap size=small]T[/dropcap]he FX series Fargo is sitting pretty after (unexpectedly) winning a couple of big awards at the 72nd Golden Globes.
Billy Bob Thornton ran away with the ‘Best Actor in a Miniseries or Made for Television Movie’ award for his role as the cool, yet terrifying Lorne Malvo on the show. Thornton is brilliant on the series, so the win may not come as a huge shock– until you consider that the other nominees in the category were Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey (the favorite to win) for their work on True Detective. Mark Ruffalo was also nominated for The Normal Heart, along with Thornton’s Fargo co-star Martin Freeman. A stacked category, to say the least.
In another surprise win for the show, Fargo won the ‘Best Miniseries or Made for Television Movie’ award, trumping True Detective, The Normal Heart, The Missing, and Olive Kitteridge.
So, with Fargo riding high out of the Golden Globes, there is now renewed interest in the series and the show’s upcoming second season. What’s in store? Here’s what we know so far…
FX announced on Thursday that Patrick Wilson (Watchmen), Ted Danson (Bored to Death) and Jean Smart (Designing Women) will headline the ensemble cast. They join the previously announced leads Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man) and Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad). FX also announced recurring guest roles for Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation), Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond), Kieran Culkin (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), Bokeem Woodbine (Ray), Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice) and Angus Sampson (Insidious).
Season 2 of Fargo is once again inspired by the world of the 1996 Coen Brothers film, with Noah Hawley returning to writing duties. The season will be set in 1979 during the ‘Sioux Falls incident’ mentioned in the first season by Lou Solverson, the former Minnesota state patrolman-turned diner owner portrayed by Keith Carradine. Patrick Wilson steps into that role, portraying a younger Solverson just four years back from Vietnam. The Solverson character, as well as the fact that the ‘Sioux Falls incident’ was mentioned previously, will reportedly be the only connection between Season 1 & 2.
Danson will play Lou’s father-in-law Hank Larsson, the sheriff of Rock County, Minnesota, while Smart is Floyd Gerhardt, matriarch of the Gerhardt crime family. In Season 2, Solverson is investigating a case involving a local crime gang and a major mob syndicate, which leads him and Sheriff Larsson to a bizarre cast of characters that including Minnesota, attorney Karl Weathers (Offerman), described as a flowery drunk and con artist; Joe Bulo (Garrett) the frontman for a Kansas City crime syndicate looking to expand into the Gerhardt family’s territory; Mike Milligan (Woodbine), Joe’s smiling right-hand man; Floyd Gerhardt (Smart), who takes over the family business from her dying husband; Dodd Gerhardt (Donovan), Floyd’s impatient and cruel eldest son who wants to inherit the family business; Bear Gerhardt (Sampson), the intimidating middle son; and Rye Gerhardt (Culkin), the youngest son, described as a “small dog who barks big.”
Production for Season 2 of Fargo begins on January 19th, and is set to debut in the fall on FX.
Will you be tuning in? Let us know in the comments below!
