After a long wait for three years, Fargo Season 5 is finally here. Built as an anthology, each season of Fargo tells a different story in a different era and the all-new fifth season will follow suit. But the mayhem, madness, and murders have always been major elements in each season and Season 5 will be no exception. And just like its preceding seasons, Fargo Season 5 also boasts an ensemble, all-star cast with Juno Temple, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Dave Foley, Joe Keery, Sam Spruell, Lamorne Morris, Richa Moorjani, and David Rhysdahl, among many others. Created by Emmy-winning Noah Hawley, who serves as the show’s director, writer, and showrunner, Fargo Season 5 is also set in Minnesota, like most of the other stories in the series. Set in 2019, the story mostly revolves around Dot (Temple), a seemingly simple housewife in Scandia, Minnesota, until we learn she is not what she appears to be. With North Dakota Sheriff Roy Tillman (Hamm) on her tail, Dot struggles to keep her deepest secrets buried and prevent her past from haunting her.
Premiering in 2014, Fargo started as a reimagination of the Coen Brothers’ hit 1996 film of the same name and set in the same fictional universe. But it soon evolved into a distinctive series on its own merit, garnering acclaim and accolades, season after season, and quickly established a huge fan following. Throughout its four seasons, the black comedy crime series earned 228 nominations and won 51 of them, including six Emmies and three Golden Globes. Arriving this November, here’s our handy guide for you to find out where, when, and how you can watch Fargo Season 5.
When Does ‘Fargo’ Season 5 Premiere on FX
As per the latest announcements, Fargo Season 5 is releasing on Tuesday, November 21, 2023, at 10 PM ET/PT as a two-episode premiere. The same will be available to stream on Hulu the next day. Following the premiere, all new episodes will be airing weekly, every Tuesday on FX, and will be available to stream on Hulu the next day. If you are yet to catch up on the earlier seasons of this hit thriller series, you can watch Fargo Seasons 1 to 4 on Hulu (with a subscription) or buy all four seasons on Disney+-Hulu-ESPN bundle, Apple TV, Google Play, Amazon, and Vudu.
Watch the Trailer for Fargo Season 5
FX started releasing several promotional images and initial teasers for the fifth season in September 2023, where each clip focuses on some of the main characters, namely Temple’s Dot, Hamm’s Roy Tillman, and Keery’s Gator, Tillman’s son. The teaser clips work like a primer into these characters, where it’s not hard to guess that Dot is trouble, or in trouble, or both, and Tillman is not just a cowboy sheriff but “a hard man for hard times” or that what he likes to boast. Finally, in October 2023, we got a full-length official trailer with a very good look at the plot, other characters, and what’s coming to this small Midwestern town beside a snowstorm. The focus of the latest video is Dot, a character who seems to be at the center of the story, as the agent of chaos. Aptly paired with Nick Waterhouse’s “If You Want Trouble”, the trailer starts with discovering that Dot isn’t who she appears to be. From outsmarting kidnappers with Home Alone-style contraptions to wielding weapons that mobsters ought to have, Dot is the next badass Fargo female on the rise. Joining her on that path is Jennifer Jason Leigh’s Lorraine, a woman with power, influence, and control, and very reminiscent of Jean Smart’s Floyd Gerhardt from Season 2. On the same lines, Richa Moorjani’s gritty and relentless Indira Olmstead has parallels with Allison Tolman’s Molly Solverson and Carrie Coon’s Gloria Burgle.
Despite being set in the present times, the overall feel of the fifth season doesn’t stray from the series’ signature colors, tone, and narrative that we have seen season after season, albeit with the exception of period elements. One element that remains constant throughout the trailer is the dark, dry humor, which has become iconic of this long-standing show and also serves as a homage to Joel and Ethan Coen’s works. However, this season, the comedy quotient seems to be higher than ever.
When is the ‘Fargo’ Season 5 Finale Coming Out?
The 10th and final season of Fargo Season 5 is set to air on January 16, 2024, on FX, and stream on Hulu on January 17, 2024. We now also have most of the episode details for Fargo Season 5, which is slated for 10 episodes, with Episodes 1 and 2 premiering on the same day. After that, every new episode will arrive every Tuesday on FX and on Hulu the next day (every Wednesday).
Check out the other details as follows
Episode |
Episode Title |
Directed By |
Written By |
Release Date |
1 |
“The Tragedy of the Commons” |
Noah Hawley |
Noah Hawley |
November 21, 2023 |
2 |
“Trials and Tribulations” |
Noah Hawley |
Noah Hawley |
November 21, 2023 |
3 |
“The Paradox of Intermediate Transactions” |
TBA |
Noah Hawley |
November 28, 2023 |
4 |
“Insolubilia” |
TBA |
Noah Hawley |
December 5, 2023 |
5 |
“The Tiger” |
TBA |
Noah Hawley |
December 12, 2023 |
6 |
“The Tender Trap” |
TBA |
Noah Hawley & Bob DeLaurentis |
December 19, 2023 |
7 |
“Linda” |
TBA |
Noah Hawley & April Shih |
December 26, 2023 |
8 |
TBA |
TBA |
Noah Hawley & Thomas Bezucha |
January 2, 2024 |
9 |
TBA |
TBA |
Noah Hawley |
January 9, 2024 |
10 |
TBA |
TBA |
Noah Hawley |
January 16, 2024 |
What Happened in the Previous Seasons of Fargo?
As an anthology, each season of Fargo has a different story in a self-contained narrative, exploring diverse characters and crimes related to them, set in different times. The one connection they have in common is that all major events in each story take place in and around Minnesota (except season 3) and lead to the titular town in North Dakota. However, all the seasons have subtle references to each other through characters, places, and/or events that make this one big connected universe. And if you are watching Fargo Season 5, you can also watch the previous four seasons, currently streaming on Hulu. You can watch the four seasons back-to-back as per release dates or watch them by the chronological order of the stories.
Fargo Season 1 (2014)
The first series of the black crime comedy loosely takes from the 1996 film, but the events take place between 2006 and 2007. Set across Minnesota and North Dakota, the story follows Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) who gets involved with a hitman, Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) for his personal gains. As his actions lead to a series of murders throughout the city, two cops, Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) and Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks) begin to investigate. Fargo Season 1 earned critical acclaim for the story, direction, and cast performance, winning one Primetime Emmy and two Golden Globes. Bob Odenkirk, Joey King, Kate Walsh, Adam Goldberg, Oliver Platt, Russell Harvard, Keegan-Michael Key, and Jordan Peele also star in recurring roles.
Fargo Season 2 (2015)
The second season takes us back to 1979, where the story takes place across Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Featuring an ensemble cast, just like the first season, Fargo Season 2 follows the ambitious Peggy Blumquist (Kirsten Dunst) and her husband, Ed (Jesse Plemons) who attempt to cover up the homicide of Rye Gerhardt of the Gerhardt crime family. Meanwhile, Minnesota state trooper Lou Solverson (Patrick Wilson) and sheriff Hank Larson (Ted Danson) investigate three gruesome murders connected to Rye. This season connects to the previous one through Lou Solverson, father of Season 1’s Molly Solverson. The rest of the cast includes Jean Smart, Bokeem Woodbine, Zahn McClarnon, Rachel Keller, and Nick Offerman, among others. Fargo Season 2 was widely acclaimed and earned several Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
Fargo Season 3 (2017)
The third season of Fargo was an exception for not featuring the titular Fargo. Primarily set across various places in Minnesota, Fargo Season 3 takes place from 2010 to 2011 and also features a star-studded cast with the likes of Ewan McGregor, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, David Thewlis, Carrie Coon, Shea Wingham, Michael Stuhlbarg, Scoot McNairy, and Frances Fisher. The story follows Ray Stussy (McGregor) and his girlfriend, Nikki Swango (Winstead) who try to rob Ray’s wealthy older brother, Emmit (McGregor), and get involved in a double murder, which police chief Gloria Burgle (Coon) tries to solve. Meanwhile, as Emmit tries to detach from the shady organization he has been involved with, the company sends the mysterious and weird V.M. Varga (Thewlis). Just like its preceding seasons, Fargo Season 3 also met with great success and widespread acclaim, earning several Emmy and Golden Globe nominations and McGregor winning a Golden Globe for Best Actor.
Fargo Season 4 (2020)
The fourth season of the anthology goes further back in the timeline and takes us to post-war America in the early 50s. Set in Kansas City, Missouri, Fargo Season 4 follows two rival crime syndicates, the Canon Limited led by Loy Canon (Chris Rock) and the Fadda Family led by Josto Fadda (Jason Schwartzman) who strive to take control of the city’s underground. For generations, the leading crime families of the town have traded their youngest sons to maintain peace. But when Josto’s eccentric brother Gaetano (Salvatore Esposito) and a questionable nurse, Oretta Mayflower (Jesse Buckley) land in the mix, things begin to get out of control for the respective gangs. Meanwhile, Oretta’s teenage neighbor Ethelrida (E’myri Crutchfield) discovers her family’s ties to the Canons and gets entangled with criminal activities. The fourth season connects back to the second through Loy Canon’s son, Michael “Satchel” Cannon, who grows up to become Mike Milligan, played by Bookim Woodbine. This was the only season of Fargo that did not achieve the heights of success as its predecessors. However, one can’t ignore the collaborative performance of the all-star cast and the season’s masterful cinematography and use of period elements.