FX has renewed “Fargo” for a third installment, Variety has learned. The pickup comes in the midst of the anthology’s second season.
Creator Noah Hawley is set to return to the critically-acclaimed and award-winning series, along with exec producers Warren Littlefield, John Cameron and Joel and Ethan Coen.
Inspired by the Coen brothers’ 1996 film of the same name, each installment centers on a different crime, though no word on what Season 3 will bring.
“Fargo’s” first run, which was set in 2006 and starred Billy Bob Thornton, won three Emmy awards, including outstanding miniseries, two Golden Glove awards and a Peabody Award. The current second season is set in the late ’70s and stars Patrick Wilson, Ted Danson, Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons.
“Year two of ‘Fargo’ is an extraordinary achievement and, given Noah Hawley’s masterful storytelling, we can’t wait to see where the third, all-new version of ‘Fargo’ takes us,” Eric Schrier said, who announced the renewal with Nick Grad, fellow president oforiginal programming for FX Networks and FX Productions. “Our thanks to Noah, Warren, Joel and Ethan, John and our partners at MGM Television for making ‘Fargo’ such a memorable and rewarding journey.”
Though hardly a ratings juggernaut and down from its first season, “Fargo” has been a steady performer for FX. It’s averaging a 0.82 rating in adults 18-49 (seventh among scripted cable shows this fall) and about 2.6 million total viewers, according to Nielsen’s “live plus-3” estimates.
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Currently airing Monday nights of the cabler, “Fargo’s” second season — which has four episodes to go until its Dec. 14 finale — has been reviewed positively.
In his sophomore season review, Variety‘s Brian Lowry said, “FX’s frost-covered drama appears to have equaled its splendid predecessor, capturing the same off-kilter tone while actually enhancing the comedy quotient. If the first series deftly approximated the spirit of its movie namesake, this one works in a cheeky Quentin Tarantino vibe, with results as refreshing and bracing as the region’s abundant snow.”
“Fargo” hails from MGM Television and FX Productions.
