Multi-award-winning anthology series Fargo has returned to television screens, people. The show, which is centred on crimes set in the Midwest of the USA, is approaching 10 years since its initial release date, and the latest iteration is stacked with a cast lineup that’s as impressive as ever. If you’re a longtime Fargo fan or someone who is keen to join in on the excitement now (never too late), here’s everything you need to know about the series and how to watch it in Australia.
What’s the Fargo TV series about, again?
Fargo follows the journeys of assorted characters, each somehow connected to a crime set in the middle of the story.
The show was created by Noah Hawley, and Season 1 aired back in 2014. Seasons 2 through 4 were released in 2015, 2017 and 2020, respectively.
It is a highly-regarded series that has six Emmys under its belt, along with several other award wins and nominations.
Where is Fargo set?
As we touched on above, it’s an anthology series set in the Midwest of the USA. Specifically in Minnesota and Fargo, North Dakota – which is a real place!
The synopsis for the Fargo TV series reads as follows:
Various chronicles of deception, intrigue, and murder in and around frozen Minnesota. All of these tales mysteriously lead back one way or another to Fargo, North Dakota.
Is Fargo a true story?
While the beginning of Fargo famously kicks off with the line, “This is a true story,” it famously isn’t true.
This whole bit started with the 1996 Coen brothers film in which we were introduced to the story with the following, “The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred.”
As SBS has since reported, Ethan Coen shared in 2016 that the film is one that “pretends to be true”. In the sense that they wanted to create a movie that is shot in the style of a true story.
In saying that, however, Joel Coen did share with the Huffington Post that two cases did inspire part of the story behind the film.
One was the tragic death of a Connecticut woman, Helle Crafts, who was murdered by her husband (her body was placed into a wood chipper). The second was a case of fraud involving a General Motors Finance Corporation employee.
Series creator for Fargo, Noah Hawley, has also confirmed that the “This is a true story” phrasing is a way of remaining consistent with the film. The stories told in the show, however, are also totally made up.
How to watch Fargo Season 5 in Australia
Okay, now for the really good stuff. Where can you watch Fargo Season 5 in Australia?
New episodes first dropped on SBS and SBS On Demand on November 22, so you can dig into episodes 1 to 3 now if you like. New episodes will land on the service every Wednesday.
Seasons 1 through 4, however, are available to stream on Stan.
Season 5: What’s the story?
Much like previous seasons, lives will be unravelled by the arrival of certain unfortunate events, and chaos ensues – unsurprisingly. SBS has shared the following intriguing description of the upcoming season of Fargo.
The latest installment of Fargo is set in Minnesota and North Dakota, 2019. After an unexpected series of events lands “Dorothy ‘Dot’ Lyon” (Temple) in hot water with the authorities, this seemingly typical Midwestern housewife is suddenly plunged back into a life she thought she had left behind.
North Dakota Sheriff “Roy Tillman” (Hamm) has been searching for Dot for a long time. A rancher, preacher and a constitutional lawman, Roy believes that he is the law and therefore is above the law. At his side is his loyal but feckless son, “Gator” (Keery), who is desperate to prove himself to his larger-than-life father. Too bad he’s hopeless. So, when it comes to hunting Dot, Roy enlists “Ole Munch” (Spruell), a shadowy drifter of mysterious origin.
With her deepest secrets beginning to unravel, Dot attempts to shield her family from her past, but her doting, well-meaning husband “Wayne” (Rysdahl) keeps running to his mother, “Lorraine Lyon” (Leigh), for help. CEO of the largest Debt Collection Agency in the country, the “Queen of Debt” is unimpressed with her son’s choice in a wife and spares no opportunity to voice her disapproval. However, when Dot’s unusual behaviour catches the attention of Minnesota Police Deputy “Indira Olmstead” (Moorjani) and North Dakota Deputy “Witt Farr” (Morris), Lorraine appoints her in-house counsel and primary advisor, “Danish Graves” (Foley) to aid her daughter-in-law. Afterall, family is family. But Dot has an uncanny knack for survival. And with her back to the wall, she’s about to show why one should never provoke a mother Lyon.
Colour us interested.
Fargo Season 5 cast
Again, like previous seasons, the fifth instalment of Fargo is filled with familiar faces.
The cast lineup for this season includes Juno Temple (Ted Lasso), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Machinist), David Rysdahl (Nine Days), Joe Keery (Stranger Things), Lamorne Morris (New Girl), Richa Moorjani (Never Have I Ever), Sam Spruell (Taken 3), and Dave Foley (A Bug’s Life).
Can I see a trailer?
So far, we’ve been treated to a handful of teasers and one full trailer for the fifth season of Fargo. They feature clips of Temple, Hamm and Keery’s characters at work. Watch them all below.
This article has been updated since its original publish date.
Lead Image Credit: FX
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