‘Fargo’ Season 5 Involves a Modern-Day Kidnapping

Fargo was officially renewed for a fifth season on Thursday, with a contemporary kidnapping storyline set in 2019. The Coen Brothers-inspired series, developed by Noah Hawley, has told stories in different decades each season, but Season 5 is set in 2019. Season 4 starred Chris Rock and was a 1950s-set Kansas City mob story.

The official logline for the new season reveals as little as possible. “When is a kidnapping not a kidnapping, and what if your wife isn’t yours?” FX asked in the announcement. During the network’s presentation at the Television Critics Association virtual press tour, FX chief John Landgraf said the season will be set in the “upper Midwest… we won’t pin it down more than that,” reports Deadline.

Hawley is also working on a new Alien series, but Landgraf said the new Fargo season will be filmed before the science fiction movie. The executive said Noah has delivered the first Fargo script, but he didn’t read it yet to avoid mistakenly spilling spoilers. Fargo Season 5 will have a similar feel to the original Coen Brothers classic movie.

“Noah and Warren [Littlefield, executive producer] have delighted and inspired fans through four brilliant chapters of Fargo, and we’re thrilled to announce with our partners at MGM a new chapter of what has become one of TV’s best and most acclaimed series,” FX Entertainment President Eric Schrier said in a statement. “Noah Hawley is a masterful storyteller who has successfully created four wholly original seasons of one of the most brilliant series on television,” MGM President of Scripted Television Michael Wright added. “We cannot wait to see his vision for season five come to life with our partners at FX.”

Fargo began airing on FX in 2014, and each season has featured an entirely different cast. Season 1 was set in Minnesota in 2006 and featured acclaimed performances from Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman, and Martin Freeman. In Season 2, Hawley went back in time to 1979, where Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons’ characters tried to cover up her hit-and-run murder. The third season was set in 2010, with Ewan McGregor, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Carrie Coon starring. All four seasons of Fargo are available to stream on Hulu.

Fargo has won six Emmys during its run, including Outstanding Miniseries for its first season in 2014. The show also made it to the American Film Institute’s Top TV Program of the Year list in 2015 and 2016.