Everything We Know About Fargo Season 5

Another season of murder and mayhem in the sleepy, snowy Midwest? You betcha. In November, Fargo returns for its fifth season after a three-year hiatus. Creator Noah Hawley hasn’t said much about this season in the press, likely because until recently he was held back by the writers strike—but there is actually a lot of information about it out there, if you know where to look. Below, find everything we know about Fargo season five so far.

Wait, remind me: What’s Fargo?

Based on Joel and Ethan Coen’s beloved, Oscar-winning 1996 black comedy, Hawley’s Fargo is an anthology series that takes place in the farthest reaches of the Midwest. Much like the movie, it’s got venal criminals, gnarly violence, and a very, very dark sense of humor. Though each season stands on its own, they all take place in the same shared universe—so cameos from previous seasons’ characters are always possible. Oh, and the show is fictional, despite the cheeky text that opens each episode: 

This is a true story. The events depicted took place in [location] in [year]. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred.

Who is in Fargo season five?

Past seasons of Hawley’s anthology have been led by heavy hitters like Martin Freeman, Kirsten Dunst, Ewan McGregor, and Chris Rock. Season five is no different: The new batch stars Jon Hamm in one of his first major TV roles since Mad Men wrapped in 2015. He’s joined by Jennifer Jason Leigh, New Girl’s Lamorne Morris, Black Mirror’s David Rysdahl, Kids in the Hall vet Dave Foley, Never Have I Ever’s Richa Moorjani, British character actor Sam Spruell, Stranger Things’ Joe Keery, and Ted Lasso’s Juno Temple.

What’s Fargo season five about?

In typical Fargo fashion, the logline is long. The basic gist: Temple’s Dot Lyon is a housewife who finds herself “in hot water with the authorities,” according to FX’s official description, making her this season’s answer to Freeman’s and Dunst’s characters. Hamm plays the dogged sheriff in hot pursuit of her, while Leigh plays Dot’s imposing mother-in-law, who’s never liked her son’s wife.

Want more nitty-gritty detail? Here’s the full description, courtesy of FX:

The latest installment of Fargo is set in Minnesota and North Dakota, 2019. After an unexpected series of events lands “Dorothy ‘Dot’ Lyon” (Juno Temple) in hot water with the authorities, this seemingly typical Midwestern housewife is suddenly plunged back into a life she thought she had left behind.  

North Dakota Sheriff “Roy Tillman” (Jon Hamm) has been searching for Dot for a long time. A rancher, preacher and a constitutional lawman, Roy believes that he is the law and therefore is above the law. At his side is his loyal but feckless son, “Gator” (Joe Keery), who is desperate to prove himself to his larger-than-life father. Too bad he’s hopeless. So when it comes to hunting Dot, Roy enlists “Ole Munch” (Sam Spruell), a shadowy drifter of mysterious origin.  

With her deepest secrets beginning to unravel, Dot attempts to shield her family from her past, but her doting, well-meaning husband “Wayne” (David Rysdahl) keeps running to his mother, “Lorraine Lyon” (Jennifer Jason Leigh), for help. CEO of the largest Debt Collection Agency in the country, the “Queen of Debt” is unimpressed with her son’s choice in a wife and spares no opportunity to voice her disapproval. However, when Dot’s unusual behavior catches the attention of Minnesota Police Deputy “Indira Olmstead” (Richa Moorjani) and North Dakota Deputy “Witt Farr” (Lamorne Morris), Lorraine appoints her in-house counsel and primary advisor, “Danish Graves” (Dave Foley), to aid her daughter-in-law. After all, family is family. But Dot has an uncanny knack for survival. And with her back to the wall, she’s about to show why one should never provoke a mother Lyon.

What are the titles of the season’s first six episodes?

According to IMDB, they are as follows: