SPLICED FEATURE /
ISSUE 05
TEN TV SHOWS YOU SHOULD BE WATCHING
Fargo
Genre / Dark comedy
cast / Martin Freeman
Billy Bob Thornton / Allison Tolman
Colin Hanks / Oliver Platt
Creator / Noah Hawley
What is it about?
Fargo is the continuation of the feature film of
the same name that was released in 1996 by the
Coen Brothers. Many critics were in two minds
as to whether Fargo could work as a TV show.
It’s safe to say that it does. The series sees drifter
Lorne Malvo, played by Billy Bob Thornton
arrive in the small Minnesotan town of Bemidji
after a herd of deer cross his path on a highway
and force him to stay. To bide his time he wreaks
malicious and violent havoc on the people of
Bemidji, including that of insurance salesman
Lester Nygaard, who as it turns out, has a dark
side of his own.
Why watch it?
Brilliant performances from Freeman and
Thornton will keep you coming back for more
with each episode. That and the fact that the
story is based on true events that took place
in Minnesota in 2006. At the request of the
survivors their names have been changed, yet
out of respect for the dead, the rest has been
told exactly as it occurred, or so the opening
credits for each episode states. It will leave
you gobsmacked that a story like this actually
unfolded for real people living ordinary lives. So
crazy it has to be true, right?
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