‘Fargo’ season 5 rave reviews raise its Emmys profile

Jacob Sarkisian
·4 min read
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The first three seasons of FX’s “Fargo” were embraced by the Emmys, racking up loads of nominations including for Best Limited Series. However, season four broke that pattern as critics and viewers alike came away largely disappointed by the series — it didn’t quite match up to the heights of the first three entries.

But “Fargo” season five look like it will get the show back in the Emmy spotlight. The season is set in Minnesota and North Dakota in 2019 and tells the story of Juno Temple as a midwestern housewife plunged into dangers she thought were firmly in her past. Jon Hamm delivers a change-of-pace performance as a sheriff while Jennifer Jason Leigh turns in a wildly entertaining performance. Critics agree, this fifth season is a return to form.

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Dan Eivar (Financial Times) observed: “The show’s masterful, suspense-ratcheting approach to action sequences is matched by its assured writing and considered character work. Temple in particular deserves nothing short of critical reverence…”

Jen Chaney (New York Magazine/Vulture) thought: “This is what this season of ‘Fargo’ does so well and so smartly: It takes archetypes and themes that are familiar from the film and previous seasons of the anthology, then does things with them that we don’t quite expect.”

Alan Sepinwall (Rolling Stone) wrote: “It is, in other words, a new collection of performers playing Noah Hawley’s Greatest Hits, as ‘Fargo’ the TV show leans into what it’s always done best. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with giving the people what they want.”

Ben Travers (Indie Wire) commented: “‘Fargo’ Season 5 is more concentrated than years past, but its individualized attentions not only make for a lean and mean dark-comic thriller; they also befit a story about the dangers of walling yourself off from the world.”

Kylie Northover (The Age) opined: “It’s not surprising that some seasons have been better than others, but the newest, fifth installment is a return to form, tonally very much in the vein of the Coens’ original movie, capturing that ‘Minnesota nice’ stereotype. And that accent.”

“Fargo” season five is currently sitting pretty at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a score more comparable with the success of the earlier seasons. Season one scored 97%, season two achieved full marks at 100%, and season three was awarded a 93% grade. By comparison, season four only managed 84%.

This is good news for this entry’s Emmy hopes. Each of the first two seasons clocked up 18 bids while season three was just one nomination behind that. All three seasons contended for Best Limited Series.

Emmy voters love to reward anthologies with nominations for the top prize. Among those to contend are both seasons of “The White Lotus” plus installments of “American Crime Story,” “Feud” “Genius,” “American Crime,” and “American Horror Story.”

The style of “Fargo” is certainly to voters’ tastes — darkly comic shows always do well here, including reigning champ”Beef,” 2022 winner “The White Lotus” and nominees “Pam & Tommy,”  and “I May Destroy You.”

Temple, Hamm and Jason Leigh look like locks for nominations and  “Stranger Things” player Joe Keery could contend in supporting actor. As with the first three seasons, this fifth edition is likely to reap bids for writing, directing, and plenty of below-the-line categories.

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