Fargo

What It Feels Like to Watch

Fargo is an anthology inspired by the Coen Brothers' film—each season a new story, new characters, same Minnesota nice and midwestern horror. The opening claims every season is "a true story." It isn't. But it feels true: ordinary people forced into extraordinary violence, criminals who are surprisingly philosophical, and snow. Always snow.

Season one is perfect: Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman), a bullied insurance salesman, meets Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton), a hitman who offers to kill his tormentors. Lester says yes—or maybe doesn't, and Malvo does it anyway. Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) is the sheriff's deputy who investigates. The show captures the film's tone: deadpan, violent, moral. "There's more to life than a little money, you know," a character says. "Don't you know that?" The characters who know this survive. The ones who don't, don't.

Season two is a prequel: 1979, a massacre at a diner, a crime family, a state trooper named Lou Solverson (Patrick Wilson). Season three: a probation officer (Carrie Coon) vs. a businessman (Ewan McGregor) with two identities. Season four: 1950s Kansas City, two crime families—Black and Italian—fighting for territory. Each season stands alone, connected by bloodlines and themes: greed, fate, the mythic American Midwest.

Five seasons, fifty-one episodes, ongoing. Fargo is exceptional anthology television—not every season matches season one's perfection, but all are ambitious. The show's thesis: people make choices, and choices have consequences. Some are good. Some are evil. Most are confused. The snow covers everything eventually. "And I guess that was the last anyone saw of that fella," a narrator says. The stories end. The cold remains.

Why It Ranks