Last year, in the midst of its Season 2 run, FX issued a Season 3renewalfor their hit seriesFargo, which will debut sometime next year. The show’s first two seasons have received wide critical acclaim, with each season set in a different time period. Another unusual aspect of the show is that there is a bit longer of a gap between seasons, and it seem that may continue after Season 3.
Fargo’s first 10-episode season debuted in the spring of 2014, but the second season didn’t air until the fall of 2015. While it isn’t a huge gap, in the realm ofCurb Your Enthusiasm, which has gaps of several years between seasons, it’s still not terribly common for a critically acclaimed show likeFargoto keep increasing the gaps between seasons. During a new interview withVulture, series creatorNoah Hawleyteased that will be an even bigger gap between Season 2 and Season 3.
“I guess [accumulated backstory]’s assuming there are going to be more than three years of it or more. Every time I’m in the middle of one I go, I don’t know if there’s another one. I know that big corporations don’t usually do a mic drop after a success, but one of the things I really respect aboutJohn Landgrafand FX is we did the first one and it was a huge success, and we wouldn’t have done another unless we both felt like we could equal it or top it. It was the same with this one - the bar is very high, and I don’t think there has to be ten years of something to make it great. If usually you get, what, five seasons in five years? I’ll probably have three seasons in five years given the first one was 16 months between seasons and this one will be 18 or 20 months between seasons. So at that point… I don’t know.”
Back in December,Noah Hawleyteased thatFargo Season 3will be more contemporary, set a few years after Season 1, which was set in the year 2006, while Season 2 was set in the year 1979. The series creator also teased that certain Season 1 characters may return as well.Noah Hawleyalso discussed how FX gaveLouiecreatorLouis CKsome time off between seasons, hinting that could happen withFargo. Here’s what he had to say below.
“I mean it’s gotta work. But the other thing is, maybe then you go, ‘Okay, great, we had three, those came relatively easily,’ and you do the Louis C.K. thing and say, ‘Hey, it’s four years later, I have another one,’ and then you just make that. If it isn’t an anthology or a limited series in that way, you can event-ize it and not stick to that TV schedule.”
As for Season 3, the only confirmed cast member thus far isEwan McGregor, who is playing the dual role of Emmit Stussy and his younger brother Ray Stussy. Emmit is the Parking Lot King of Minnesota, described as a handsome, self-made, real estate mogul and family man. His younger brother Ray Stussy is more of a cautionary tale, a balding, pot-bellied parole officer who peaked in high school. Here’s whatNoah Hawleyhad to say about this new season.
“JoelandEthan Coendescribed it as Siberia with family restaurants. There’s this overly friendly sense of community built up by very isolated people, and there’s this Lutheran humbleness that keeps people from talking about their own feelings and asking about yours. What does that do in this modern age where everyone takes pictures of their food, and they share every thought they’ve ever had in real time? What happens to Minnesota-nice when people start interacting with screens instead of each other?”
Production is scheduled to begin onFargosometime later this year, with the season slated for a2017 debutonFX. We’ll be sure to keep you posted with more casting updates on Season 3 ofFargoas we get closer and closer to production starting. Given the series creator’s comments about an 18 to 20 month gap between Season 2 and Season 3, it will most likely debut in the fall of 2017.
