The writer-director defied expectations to turn the film Fargo into one of the best TV shows of the decade. Now he’s taking on an even bigger franchise. Can lightning strike twice?
When it was first announced in 2013, the thought of Fargo being reimagined as a TV miniseries felt practically sacrilegious. The 1996 neo-noir starring Frances McDormand as a kindly Minnesota police chief was a singular film that had won two Oscars. Surely its distinctive Coen brothers vibe would get shredded in the woodchipper of TV adaptation?
Back then, Noah Hawley, the screenwriter who took on the job, would have agreed. “It seemed like such a terrible idea,” he says via video call from a Long Island holiday bolthole. “Which is sort of why I liked it. The risk/reward was really high.”
