What’s this then? FX’s big new blockbuster TV show Fargo, based on the 1996 Coen brothers film of the same name. It stars Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman. It’s going to be on Channel 4 here and it starts tonight.
Wait so it’s the movie, but split into episodes? Not quite, we’ve only seen one episode so far and while there are definite plot similarities, it’s not quite the same story.
Are the characters the same? Well, you can compare Martin Freeman’s Lester to William H. Macy’s simpering Jerry. You can also definitely see Billy Bob Thornton’s Lorne as a mash-up of both Steve Buscemi’s Carl and Peter Stormare’s Gaear, but we’ve got our suspicions that if you try and predict what’s coming, you’ll lose your footing quite quickly.
Any other similarities? It’s set in frozen Minnesota again but in the unpronnounceable Bemidji which is a real place that – no offence Minnesotans – we don’t massively fancy living in – it’s really, really far North. The characters have the same small-town niceness as their counterparts do in the film, and yes, they’ve got that awesome sing-songy accent too.
And what happens? Well, without giving too much away, Lester (Martin Freeman) is a struggling insurance salesman who's inability to stick up for himself to his wife, his successful brother and an old school bully culminates in him sitting in A&E, where he meets drifter and erm, murderer (thanks first scene!) Billy Bob Thornton who urges Lester to stand up for himself. Everything sort of unravels for Lester from there.
And is it violent? They don’t hold back in the gore stakes, that’s for sure. And, like in the film, when the blood's juxtaposed with the sweet naturedness of the townfolk, it's all the more shocking.
So it’s worth watching then? For sure. We’re officially adopting this as our follow up to True Detective. When we’re not watching Game Of Thrones obvs.
Follow Jess on Twitter @jess_commons
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.