‘Fargo’ nets 18 Emmy nods, likely 2nd season

Molly Solverson (Allison Tollman) is hot on the trail of the truth in the unfolding capers of "Fargo" on FX.

Allison Tollman’s tremendous performance as Molly Solverson in the FX mini-series “Fargo” earned her an Emmy nomination this week. “Fargo” netted 18 total nominations.

The Northern Minnesota-based FX drama “Fargo,” inspired by the Coen Brothers movie of the same name, earned 18 Emmy nominations in the mini-series category yesterday, including nods for the four actors who portrayed the main roles. I filed episode-by-episode reviews of “Fargo” from my unique perch here in the real Northern Minnesota.

I started watching the show with a healthy dose of skepticism but quickly came around when the dramatic craftsmanship of Noah Hawley and his team became apparent. What began as an opportunity to make jokes about regional continuity errors quickly became a well-read feature of my blog, as fans gathered to talk about the latest episodes and as questions about Bemidji, Duluth and other places depicted in “Fargo.”

“Fargo” was not a traditional style TV drama. It was designed as a “one off,” a 10-episode run that would end definitively after a single season. That’s how they got so many relatively big stars to do roles both big and small. But Hawley said that he would be open to doing another, similar season, albeit with all new characters and probably in an all new venue. He’s described his vision as being a “true crime of the Midwest” series that would stay fresh by leaping through time and location. (“True Crime” being part of the irony here; despite the disclaimer at the beginning of each episode, “Fargo” is entirely fictional).

So there’s no guarantee that the next show would be based in Northern Minnesota, but it would probably be fairly nearby if it weren’t.  Though it’s not official yet, sources are saying a new second season of “Fargo” is likely. But some of the first season’s stars seem resigned to the fact that they won’t be a part of the new one.

Turning back to the Emmy’s for a moment, the 18 nominations for “Fargo” all come in the “Best Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special” category. This was a strategic move by FX, as the show would also have been eligible to be entered in the Best Drama category (where HBO’s similarly-formatted “True Detective” ended up). But the move did allow all of the show’s deserving people to be nominated and may set it up for a historic sweep if Emmy voters like the show as much as critics did.

Billy Bob Thornton (Lorne Malvo) and Martin Freeman (Lester Nygaard) were both nominated for Best Actor in a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special.” In a move that I question, Allison Tolman (Molly Soverson) was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the miniseries category. I had long considered her a leading actress, the protagonist that counterbalanced the evil of Thornton and Freeman’s characters. So it goes. Colin Hanks (Gus Grimely) was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor in this category, meaning all four of the “main” characters were nominated.

I would have liked to see some of the out standing guest actors get nominated for this series — Russell Harvard, Adam Goldberg, Bob Odenkirk — but none of them got the call.

Noah Hawley was nominated for writing, where he is very deserving, and two directors were nominated for different episodes: Adam Bernstein for “The Crocodile’s Dilemma” and Colin Bucksey for “Buridan’s Ass.” My personal feeling is that “Buridan’s Ass” is the best episode in the whole series, its only fault being that it was so much better than the others that the finale had a hard time catching up to the expectations. So that’s my favorite.

So we’ll see what happens on Monday, Aug. 25 when the Emmy’s awards ceremony is held in Los Angeles. Then we will find out if “Fargo” is coming back, and “where” it will happen. My vote is for the Iron Range. Noah! Call me!

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This piece is cross-posted with my “Up North Report” blog at the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Comments

  1. I haven’t had time to watch the whole season yet, just finished episode 3, but I do like it. Billy Bob Thornton is always fun to watch even though he chooses rather unsavory or unsympathetic roles. I was surprised to see Martin Freeman in this series. I thought he was great in Sherlock.

    Have you watched Welcome to Sweden yet? Maybe one has to be a Northern MN Scandinavian or Iron Ranger to be amused by some of the scenes. The sauna scene in first episode ending was almost predictable to anyone familiar with sauna heat, jet lag and much alcohol. In the 2nd episode, the Swedish father constructing another outbuilding at their summer house (cabin) is reminiscent of the compulsion of Iron Range Finns living in the country to continually build more and more sheds.

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