Release Date, Cast, Plot, and Everything We Know So Far

After a long wait of nearly three years, FX’s hit anthology series Fargo (2014-) is set to return with an all-new fifth season sometime this year. Although the season’s actual release date is yet to be announced, it’s hard not to get excited about the much-awaited new season of this deliciously dark award-winning series that promises a stellar cast and another chapter full of intrigue, deceit, crime, and thrill in the frozen hinterlands. While many tend to see it as a sequel or reboot of some kind of Joel and Ethan Coen’s eponymous Academy Award-winning black comedy crime film, the series, in fact, is a homage to the Coen Brothers’ film and their filmmaking genius by television writer-producer Noah Hawley. From its narrative and tone to the characterizations and camera work, the show is heavily influenced by the Coen Brothers’ work and uses various references from their films throughout. Four successful seasons and 41 episodes later, this crime noir has become one of the best in the genre.

Set in the same fictional universe as the film, Fargo explores the lives and crimes of various characters in different decades, but with all events taking place in and around the hinterlands, eventually leading some way or the other to the town of Fargo, North Dakota. That’s also the case with the upcoming Season 5, which is also set in the Upper Midwest, but this time around, murder/s might become secondary since the plot focuses on a kidnapping. As revealed, the new season will be the first in the show to have the story closer to our present day, thus adding a new dimension to the storytelling. After having premiered in 2014 on FX, Fargo quickly became popular among crime thriller fans. Since its pilot, it has become a massive success and is widely acclaimed, with each season topping the charts and building a massive following. Across all four seasons, Fargo earned 228 nominations at various awards and won 51, including six Emmies (Primetime and Creative) and three Golden Globes. And now with the show’s highly-anticipated fifth season on its way, we can only hope that this streak will continue. Meanwhile, check out all the details about what you can expect from Fargo Season 5.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated on August 20.

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When and Where Is Fargo Season 5 Coming Out?

After a long wait, we finally have an official release date for Fargo Season 5, with the new season set to premiere its first two episodes on FX on November 21, 2023 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. With the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, it initially looked like Season 5 could get delayed to 2024, which would have made it the longest hiatus between seasons of this series. Fargo Season 5 will be airing weekly on FX, with new episodes becoming available for streaming on Hulu the next day. An FX original series, Fargo started streaming on Hulu in 2015. If you are yet to catch up on the previous stories, you can watch all four seasons of the anthology exclusively on Hulu. Alternatively, Seasons 1 through 4 are also available to buy on Apple TV, Google Play, Amazon, and Vudu.

Watch on Hulu

How Many Episodes Are There in Fargo Season 5?

There is no official update on the number of episodes that Fargo Season 5 will have. However, IMDb lists 10 episodes for the fifth season. The first three seasons had 10 episodes each, while the fourth season had 11. So, it’s most likely that the fifth would also be aiming for a standard 10-episode season.

Is There a Fargo Season 5 Trailer?

Unfortunately, there is no teaser or official trailer for Fargo Season 5. Considering the filming is still underway, as are the strikes, we cannot expect to see a trailer anytime soon. Watch this space for the latest news and updates on the trailer/teaser/promos of Fargo Season 5. In the meantime, you can see the trailer for Fargo Season 4 in the player above for a taste of the show’s last installment.

When and Where Did Fargo Season 5 Film?

The production for Fargo Season 5 began soon after the renewal announcement, in Calgary, Alberta, in October 2022. The filming later continued across various locations in Calgary.

Related:Is Fargo Based on a True Story?

Who’s In the Fargo Season 5 Cast?

Besides some shared characters, one of the most interesting aspects of Fargo is its brilliant rotating cast. Each season features a new ensemble of top talent in film and television, all of whom collectively deliver excellence season after season. So, it’s no surprise that Hawley and his team have put together yet another impressive cast list for the upcoming fifth season. Soon after Season 5’s renewal, Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Juno Temple (Ted Lasso), and Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight) were cast as key characters in June 2022. Later, Stranger Things’ Joe Keery, Never Have I Ever’s Richa Moorjani, and New Girl’s Lamorne Morris were also added in other significant roles. In November 2022, Young Sheldon’s Dave Foley was added as a series regular, along with Oppenheimer’s David Rysdahl, Doctor Who’s Sam Spruell, Pee-wee’s Big Holiday’s Jessica Pohly and She-Hulk’s Nick Gomez in various supporting roles.

Jon Hamm stars as Sheriff Roy Tillman, who plays the part of a small-town detective in the fifth season. Although the finer details of his character are still under wraps, we can expect it to be as gritty as the other sheriffs we’ve seen on the show, like Patrick Wilson’s Lou Solverson or his daughter, Allison Tollman’s Molly Solverson. The show’s fifth season marks Hamm’s third television project of 2023. He will next be appearing in the upcoming FOX animated sitcom Grimsburg and the third season of The Morning Show. Jennifer Jason Leigh stars as billionaire Lorraine Lyon, while Temple plays the role of Dorothy “Dot” Lyon, who is Lorraine’s daughter-in-law and the criminal Sheriff Tillman is trying to catch. Atypical and Weeds star Leigh recently appeared in the second season of Hunters and will be next seen in Chris Pine’s directorial debut film, Poolman. After 2022’s The Offer, Juno Temple will be returning to television with Fargo Season 5, and be next seen in the upcoming Venom sequel. Dave Foley stars as Danish Graves, an advisor to Lorraine, in his biggest major television role since ABC’s Dr. Ken. In other prominent and supporting roles, Keery stars as Gator Tillman, Morris as Witt Farr, Moorjani as Indira Olmstead, Gage as Lars Olmstead, Rysdahl as Wayne Lyon, Spruell as Ole Munch, Pohly as Agent Meyer, and Gomez as Agent Joaquin.

Related:Jon Hamm Thought Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ Was “Impossible” to Make

Who’s Making Fargo Season 5?

Fargo is the brainchild of director, producer, and writer, Noah Hawley, which he based on the Coen Brothers’ eponymous 1996 crime film. This series marks his television directorial debut and his most prominent project to date, and that’s in a career filled with acclaimed work. Apart from this black comedy anthology, Hawley has written for the hit FOX procedural, Bones, as well as created, written, and produced select episodes of The Unusuals and My Generation, and created the superhero series Legion. He made his feature directorial debut with the 2019 psychological thriller Lucy in the Sky, which he also wrote and produced. Hawley also serves as one of the executive producers for Fargo. Although Joel and Ethan Coen are not involved in creating the series, they serve as executive producers. In the previous seasons, Warren Littlefield, Adam Bernstein, Geyer Kosinski, John Cameron, and Leslie Cowan executive produced, while Kim Todd, Chad Oakes, Michael Frislev, and Erik Holmberg served as producers. Emmy winning cinematographer Dana Gonzales (Legion) can be credited for the stunning camera work that has become distinctive to this series, while the music is composed by Jeff Russo (Star Trek: Picard).

Do You Need to Watch Fargo Seasons 1 – 4 before Fargo Season 5?

Technically, no. Being an anthology series, each season of Fargo explores a new plot with new characters. So, you can directly watch Season 5 without any background. However, at the same time, the showrunners have pleasantly surprised us season after season with little Easter eggs that might not seem influential on the specific season’s story but hints that it’s all one connected universe after all. Some of the characters from the first season make guest appearances as their older and/or younger selves to support their origins/backstories. For instance, Season 1’s Molly Solverson is the daughter of Sheriff Lou Solverson from the second season’s story and appears in both her younger and older selves. Similarly, Mike Milligan (Bokeem Woodbine) from the second season is actually Michael “Satchel” Cannon, son of mob boss Loy Cannon from Season 4, who grows up to become a mobster after he witnesses his father’s murder. This interconnectedness of the show’s characters and their backstories mostly serves to recontextualize their arcs and add perspectives. While each season has its own story, these subtle and clever cross-references make it a more complete tapestry of people and their histories.

Related:‘Fargo’ Season 3: How Noah Hawley’s Unique Vision Becomes a Reality

What Is Fargo Season 5 About?

Here’s the official synopsis of the fifth season of Fargo:

“Fargo has traveled through decades, cities and families, and the fifth installment will be no different: Set in 2019, when is a kidnapping, not a kidnapping, and what if your wife isn’t yours?”

Apart from this, the rest of the plot details were kept under wraps for a while, but we now have a basic idea of what the plot will be. The season is expected to primarily follow Jon Hamm’s Roy Tillman, who’s trying to catch the seemingly-ordinary housewife Dorothy “Dot” Lyon (Juno Temple). While Tillman is no doubt excited about the prospect of catching a perpetrator, he also has to deal with his relationship with his son Gator (Joe Keery), who both looks up to Roy and constantly fails to match up to his father’s expectations. The Sheriff also develops a friendship with a drifter called “Ole Munch” (Sam Spruell). Meanwhile, Dot tries to keep her family from finding out about her past but her husband Wayne (David Rysdahl) loves her too much to stay away and enlists the help of his mother, Lorraine Lyon (Jennifer Jason Leigh), the CEO of the country’s most revered Debt Collection Agency. With nowhere else to turn and more law enforcement closing in on her, Dot accepts her mother-in-law’s help and she in turn puts her advisor (Dave Foley) on the case. While the story seems to be focused on a wanted woman going on the lam, that doesn’t necessarily rule out the possibility of murder (or murders) since it has been a key component in almost all the previous seasons. But there’s definitely a promise of the show’s signature elements of complex characters, twisted plotlines, and dark humor wrapped in a contemporary Western-like narrative.