‘Fargo’ Mini-Series Based On Coen Brothers Film Gets Go-Ahead At FX

A Fargo mini-series has been announced at FX, bringing the world of the hit Coen Brothers classic to the small screen in a 10-episode arc, Deadline reported on Thursday.

The website stated that the mini-series would be “an adaptation” of the comedy crime caper starring Frances McDormand as a pregnant Minnesota police chief, who is trailing two murderously inept criminals hired for a kidnapping plot.

However, Slate, noting a release from FX, said the mini-series would be less an adaptation and more a continuation using “a new case and new characters, all entrenched in the trademark humor, murder and ‘Minnesota nice’ that has made the film an enduring classic.”

Whether that means the show will be entirely new characters or some of the past characters will lend a hand from time to time, remains to be seen.

It’s the second attempt to produce a Fargo show, which in 2003 saw Edie Falco (The Sopranos), star as McDorman’s “Gunderson” character. Kathy Bates directed the pilot, but a series never developed.

One thing that’s for certain this time around — and this is good news if you were a fan of the Oscar-nominated film — the Coen Brothers will serve as executive producers on the project.

The siblings have always had a knack for casting secondary roles with actors, who don’t seem like actors. Watch Blood Simple, Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou, and No Country for Old Men, and you’ll see what we mean.

Faces like Wheezy Joe from Intolerable Cruelty (played by Irwin Keyes), Gas Station Attendant from No Country (Gene Jones), and Fargo‘s own Officer Lou (Bruce Lohene), are great examples, but with the Coens currently set for Angelina Jolie’s film Unbroken, it’s still iffy whether they’ll have time to be that involved.

(For more classic Coen characters, check out this list of 20 at Empire.)

These roles essentially sell the world of their respective films, and the ability to find those kinds of actors will be needed to make the Fargo mini-series work.

The original Fargo earned seven Academy Award nominations with McDormand winning for Best Actress and the Coens capturing Best Original Screenplay.

Are you interested in a Fargo mini-series with FX at the helm?