Fargo Anthology Series: Every Season, Explained

Is Fargo an anthology series? Yes! Martin Freeman and Billy Bob Thornton star in the critically acclaimed first season of FX’s anthology series. Fargo, delivering chillingly dark, comedic performances that drive a tense game of cat-and-mouse sparked by a chance meeting in a small Minnesota town.

Actors Martin Freeman and Billy Bob Thornton in FX series Fargo • Fargo anthology series

Fargo is a long-form anthology series, meaning it resets its plot, story setting, and cast to tell a different complete story every season. This allows the series to remain fresh no matter how many seasons it runs for, as each one effectively reinvents the series.

But while each season presents its own story that can be understood independently, some characters do recur across seasons. The different seasons are also unified by the larger setting of the American Midwest, the dark comedy tone, and themes of morality.

The Fargo anthology series stands out for its unique blend of dark humor, crime, and Midwestern storytelling. 

Each season of the Fargo anthology series tells a completely different story, with its own characters, conflicts, and setting. This anthology approach allows the series to reinvent itself while maintaining the same darkly comic crime atmosphere.

Unique Seasonal Story Breakdown • Fargo anthology

Not only is Fargo an anthology series, it also has a connecting throughline of premises. Below are the premises for each season of Fargo so far: 

Season 1 — Lorne Malvo and Lester Nygaard (2014)

Set in and around Bemidji, Minnesota, the first season follows down-on-his-luck insurance salesman Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman). A chance encounter with a ruthless hitman named Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) leads Lester to act on his darkest impulses.

Police officers Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) and Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks) investigate the web of interconnected crimes this exposes. Though the series as a whole is well-regarded the first season is perhaps the most universally acclaimed, having won the Emmy for Best Miniseries, among other accolades.

It also has some of the most overt similarities and connections to the film. The roles of Freeman and Tolman’s characters in particular echo William H. Macy and Frances McDormand’s from the film.

Season 2 — The Gerhardt Crime Family (2015)

The second season takes place in Luverne, Minnesota, in 1979. It follows married couple Peggy and Ed Blumquist (Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons,) who accidentally kill a member of a crime family from Fargo, North Dakota.

As the Blumquists struggle to cover up the crime, the death incites a gang war. Season 2 also serves as a prequel to the first, with younger versions of several characters, including Molly and her father Lou, appearing. It received a similarly warm reception, with the acting and more complex plot given particularly heavy praise.

Season 3 — The Stussy Twins (2017)

Set in St. Cloud, Minnesota, from 2010 to 2011, the third season revolves around a conflict between twin brothers Emmit and Ray Stussy (Ewan McGregor).

Ray is a financially struggling parole officer, while Emmit is a successful real estate mogul. Emmit is also involved with corrupt businessman V.M. Varga (David Thewlis), who manipulates the conflict for his own benefit.

Though the season received generally positive reviews overall it is divisive with some critics and fans. However, the Varga character is often complimented as a unique antagonist.

Fans of the fargo anthology appreciate how seemingly ordinary events often spiral into extraordinary chaos, and it's evident in season 3 very clearly.

Season 4 — The Kansas City War (2020)

One of the strengths of the Fargo anthology series is its ability to tell self-contained stories without requiring viewers to watch every season. The fourth season is arguably the most distinctive so far.

Set in 1950 and 1951, it follows Loy Cannon (Chris Rock), an aspiring businessman who is also the leader of Cannon Limited, an African American crime syndicate.

Fleeing the Jim Crow South, Cannon Limited begins feuding with the Italian mafia in Kansas City, Missouri. Although the unique premise and handling of racial themes were often praised, the season was not as well-received as its predecessors.

Critiques were often directed at the large cast size and the narrative pacing. Rock’s performance, however, was acclaimed as a successful departure from his usual comedic work. 

Season 5 — Dot Lyon (2023)

The most recent season of the Fargo anthology is seen as a return to the style of the first two seasons. In Scandia, Minnesota in 2019, housewife Dot Lyon’s (Juno Temple) mysterious past is discovered after she accidentally attracts the attention of local authorities.

Jon Hamm also stars as Dot’s conservative, abusive ex-husband. Season 5’s similarities to the early seasons paid off, with it receiving similar levels of critical acclaim. As usual the acting, especially from Temple, Hamm, and Lamorne Morris, was praised, with the latter winning an Emmy. The plot’s depiction of timely political issues was also often complimented.

You might be wondering what is exactly connecting all these Fargo seasons together. For starters, throughout the Fargo anthology series, themes of greed, fate, and morality are explored from different perspectives. 

Actors Allison Tolman and Bob Odenkirk in FX series Fargo • Fargo anthology series

In addition to that, there are several more constant qualities that unite every season of Fargo:

• Midwest crimes: The Midwestern story settings ensure that the seasons’ aesthetics are relatively similar, despite the different time periods and towns. Like the film, the show emphasizes the snowbound, isolated qualities of many of its filming locations. These environments pose unique challenges for criminal investigations.
• Noah Hawley: Hawley has remained in his position as showrunner for every season so far. Consequently, the styles of the script writing and production remain cohesive throughout the series. Hawley’s work on Fargo, as well as later series like Legion and Alien: Earth has made him a prominent example of a television auteur.
• Coens’ moral universe: Arguably even more significant than its ties to the film’s plot are Fargo’s thematic similarities to it and other Coen Brothers movies. Like many of the directors’ films, the series depicts the moral ambiguity of ordinary people, many of whom make poor decisions with catastrophic consequences.
• The “true” story device: The ironic claim that the stories are true has the same effect in each season. It establishes the series’ surreal, oddly humorous qualities. It also leads the viewer to reflect on the morality of supposedly realistic crime stories.

By resetting its story and star-studded cast every season, the Fargo anthology series seamlessly reinvents itself. This revolving-door approach allows high-profile talent to jump in for a single, highly impactful story arc.

Standard Series Versus Anthology Series Comparison • Fargo anthology series

Fargo benefits greatly from the anthology format, which causes it few, if any, drawbacks. Only having to commit to working on one season attracts A-list creative talent. High-profile actors like Thornton, Dunst, and Rock, are especially unlikely to commit to regular, multi-season television roles.

Hawley and company only have to adhere to continuity when they choose to. Characters like Molly and Lou are only brought back when the creators believe their involvement will enhance the next season. Others like Lorne and Lester are given definitive endings, which despite their popularity can be the best choice for their story arcs.

Resetting the narrative each season also gives the show the flexibility to experiment with its style. While the dark comedy tone and focus on crime and morality remain constant throughout, the seasons’ structures and specific generic and thematic influences differ drastically.

Actor Chris Rock in FX series Fargo • Fargo anthology series

While every installment of the Fargo anthology offers a fresh story, one particular year stands out as the definitive blueprint for the show's success. Looking back at where it all began reveals exactly why this structure works so beautifully.

Actor Billy Bob Thornton in FX series Fargo • Fargo anthology

As is often the case with anthology series, picking a best season of Fargo is particularly difficult. Since each one tells its own story the seasons can’t be either praised or criticized for how they continue past story arcs or set up future ones.

Each can only be appraised on their own merits, which makes choosing a favorite or best season especially subjective. Seasons 2 and 5 are more widely praised than 3 and 4, for example, but there are still plenty of viewers who connected most with one of the latter two. 

That all said, Season 1 is still arguably the most popular, if only by a small margin. It’s easy to see why, as Lester and company’s stories encapsulate the theme of everyday people confronting good and evil. The season’s close thematic and plot connections to the film are also the best justification of the shared universe approach. And last but not least, Lorne Malvo has simply been immortalized as one of TV’s great villains. The Fargo anthology series has earned a reputation as one of television's most successful crime drama franchises.

Now that you have the answer to 'is Fargo an anthology series,' let's expand our scope.

The following are some of the other great anthology series fans of Fargo may be interested in:

1. True Detective: One of Fargo’s closest peers is this HBO hit that puts a much darker spin on crime mysteries.
2. The White Lotus: This acclaimed dark comedy is also from HBO. Each season of The White Lotus is set at a different location’s edition of the titular hotel chain and satirizes wealthy corruption and greed.
3. American Crime Story: Fans of Fargo’s time-hopping approach will appreciate this series, which dramatizes a different historical crime each season.