Episodes – 10 

Running Time – 40-53 minutes 

Starring – Juno Temple, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jon Hamm, Joe Keery, Lamorne Morris, Sam Spruell, David Foley, Richa Moorjani, David Rysdahl, Lukas Gage. 

Created & Written by Noah Hawley

Fargo Season 5 gets the honour of being the first ever TV show reviewed on my site. Season 1 aired in 2014 and over the last decade Noah Hawley has created 5 absolutely perfect seasons of TV. 

Fargo is an “anthology” show meaning each 10-11 episode season is a completely separate story to the others but set in the same world. Although of course you will be able to spot references and threads to not only the other seasons but to the original film that inspired it and many other Coen brother movies. 

Season 5 is set in 2019 and follows a normal housewife named Dot Lyon (Juno Temple) and Sheriff Roy Tillman (Jon Hamm) who apparently has been searching for Dot for just over a decade. Whilst at a parents and teachers association meeting at school that turns violent Dot accidentally uses a taser on a police officer. Carted to jail she has her fingerprints taken, thus entering the law enforcement system and allowing Roy to send some kidnappers after her. What follows is a labyrinthine story of love, kidnap and murder. 

As with the Coen brothers original film from 1996 each season of the show carries the fake introduction that the show is based on real events. Do not be fooled. This is just a device to make you believe more in the absurdity that is to follow because one thing that runs through the film and all of the seasons of the show is how crime and goodness are balancing on a tightrope of believability. 

The key characters involved in this tale tread that fine line perfectly. Dot is a housewife who you initially believe would not say boo to a goose. But there are hidden depths to this woman that make her a tiger in disguise. Someone who will fight for what is hers no matter what the circumstances. Juno Temple’s casting is perfect. Her petite frame and innocent visage hiding the guile and fight within her. Roy Tillman on the other hand is far too believable as the sheriff who believes there is a “natural order to things” and that he delivers justice which has nothing to do with the law. A fire and brimstone rancher who wants to make America great again (the year the film is set is not by accident). Jennifer Jason Leigh plays Dot’s mother in law Lorraine, a rich and powerful woman who has learned to play hard to succeed. She previously starred in the Coen brothers 1994 film “The Hudsucker Proxy” and just like in that film she gets to spit out some wonderful lines of dialogue. The scene where she tears apart Tillman’s view of freedom is hilarious and eviscerates the right wing views that have become so prevalent in recent years. And then there is Sam Spruell’s Ole Munch who is a force of nature originally hired to kidnap Dot. His internal rules and nihilistic outlook (echoing The Big Lebowski) make him a force to be reckoned with that has seemingly been with him for hundreds of years. 

Elsewhere there are so many funny and interesting characters. Lamorne Morris plays a trooper who is far too nice for his own good reminding me of Marge from the original film. Lukas Gage plays an absolute waster of a husband to the put upon trooper played by Richa Moorjani. Whilst David Foley’s attorney named Danish who wears an eye patch is just superbly peculiar and gets both truly triumphant and terrible moments in the season. And Joe Keery plays the almost tragic Gator. The son of Roy and a man initially as ugly as his father until you realise he only behaves as he does because he is desperate to be loved by his father. 

Fargo Season 5 is as perfectly formed as the other seasons and a wonderful watch. If you have never watched an episode before I would urge you to check out them all.