FX’s ‘Fargo’ Seasons, Ranked

You wouldn’t think expanding Joel and Ethan Coen’s “Fargo” — the beloved Best Picture contender from 1996 starring Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, and more Hollywood heavyweights — wise.

And yet, in the middle of Season 5, FX’s anthology crime series remains a dazzling gem of genre that’s managed to make multiple locations and time periods feel distinctly compelling in that same folksy, “Fargo” way. Its racked up 55 Emmy nominations and 6 wins to date, and it just picked up three Golden Globe nods for Season 5 (one for Best Miniseries, and acting accolades for Jon Hamm and Juno Temple).

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Created by Noah Hawley, the dramedy kicked off in 2014 with Billy Bob Thornton in a menacing role opposite a weaselly Martin Freeman to tell a tale of a hitman and an insurance salesman, who spur a string of deadly events in 2006 Minnesota that eventually lead one character to intersect with that fabled briefcase of money lost in the movie. Season 2 took us to the Midwest back in 1979, giving Kirsten Dunst a starring performance in a tale of a hit-and-run also featuring Jesse Plemons, Patrick Wilson, and more.

Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead join the legacy for another star-stacked outing in “Fargo” Season 3, set in 2010 Minnesota and telling the tale of a couple trying to get even with the husband-to-be’s twin brother. And Chris Rock starred in a lesser Season 4, set in 1950 Kansas and centering on underground crime rings headed toward a gang war. Airing in winter 2023, Season 5 got a “B+” from IndieWire’s Ben Travers.

“Noah Hawley’s FX series has long juxtaposed the sincere and faux niceties of North Dakota-adjacent Americans to illustrate greater truths about the country at large,” writes Travers in his review. “In Season 5, the series examines a creeping insularity; a desire to wall-up whatever people deem theirs to protect it from whatever’s outside. These characters, well-intentioned and otherwise, want to believe they can fix their problems themselves, if they’re just left alone long enough to do so. But time and time again, ‘Fargo’ shows just how destructive such an isolated approach can be. And boy howdy, is it fun to watch!”

Read on for IndieWire’s ranking of the five “Fargo” seasons; original film not included.

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