‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Star to Lead ‘Fargo’ Season 5

Fargo Season 5 is underway, and Top Gun: Maverick star John Hamm has been cast as one of its leads. Hamm joins previously cast stars Juno Temple and Jennifer Jason Leigh, according to a report by TV Line. He is expected to play a character named Roy, and fans are wondering if this will be the project that brings him back to his roots on Mad Men.

Fargo is an anthology-style series with a new setting and new characters taking over each season on FX. This new installment will be set in 2019, making it the most modern storyline yet. We don’t have many details about the production yet, though we know that Hamm’s character is named Roy, Temple’s character is named Dot and Leigh’s character is named Lorraine. We also have the logline for the season which reads: “When is a kidnapping not a kidnapping, and what if your wife isn’t yours?”

FX just renewed Fargo for Season 5 back in February, so chances are that this production has not come very far just yet. Season 4 premiered in September of 2020 after several delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, there’s no hint as to when Season 5 might air.

Fargo is a series of spinoffs of the original 1996 movie by the same name. It was written, produced and directed by the Coen brothers, and it starred Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Harve Presnell and Peter Stormare. The movie was about a pregnant Minnesota police chief dealing with a violent but disorganized crime spree in an otherwise calm and peaceful midwest town.

Each season of Fargo the TV series mimics this tone with a self-contained mystery of its own. Season 1 starred Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, Allison Toman and Colin Hanks in a murder mystery set in 2006. Season 2 jumped back in time to 1979 for an organized crime caper starring Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kieran Culkin, Jean Smart, Patrick Wilson and Ted Danson. Season 3 was set in 2010 with stars Ewan McGregor, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Carrie Coon and David Thewlis, and finally Season 4 was set in 1950 starring Chris Rock, Jason Schwarzman, Salvatore Esposito, Jessie Buckley and E’myri Crutchfield.

On TV, Fargo features Joel and Ethan Coen as executive producers, but the showrunner is Noah Hawley. Hawley worked with Hamm once before on Legion, so it is no surprise that they came back together for this project. Stay tuned for more updates on Fargo Season 5 as they become available.