If you’ve been missing Jon Hamm — whose career hasn’t really exploded the way everyone hoped it would after Mad Men concluded — he seems to be on a bit of an upswing lately. He gives a nice performance as the gruff boss of the TOPGUN school in Top Gun: Maverick and now he’s returning to his first big leading role on television since the end of Mad Men as the star of the upcoming fifth season of FX’s Fargo.
Per TV Line, Hamm is set to star as a character named Roy, in a story that’s set in the year 2019. (Each season of Fargo takes place in a new time and place with a new cast, loosely inspired by the Coen brothers’ film, and other movies in their filmography.) The show doesn’t adapt the Coens’ Fargo, although it is set in the same fictional universe. While the exact plot of Season 5 hasn’t been revealed yet, FX did release this logline:
When is a kidnapping not a kidnapping, and what if your wife isn’t yours?
In addition to Hamm, Fargo Season 5 will also feature Ted Lasso’s Juno Temple and Atypical’s Jennifer Jason Leigh. Noah Hawley, who created the show and been its main creative force, returns to produce and write this upcoming season.
For Hamm, he gets a big juicy role, but he doesn’t have to commit to a long-term gig, which is probably how Fargo has consistently attracted busy top-tier talents like Ewan McGregor, Chris Rock, Carrie Coon, Kirsten Dunst, and Billy Bob Thornton through the years. You can play around in Fargo’s universe then go back to doing other stuff.
FX has yet to announce a premiere date for Fargo Season 5. The four previous seasons of the show are available to watch on Hulu.