Everything We Know About 'Fargo' Season 4

For three seasons now, showrunner Noah Hawley has managed to create an extensive Midwestern world inspired by the Coen Brothers' 1996 classic Fargo and turn it into an award-winning anthology for FX. You betcha there's no stopping him either -- not with his FX series heading toward Season 4. The show, which premiered in 2014 and followed by a second and third season in 2015 and 2017, respectively, received a fourth-installment pickup back in August 2018, and the long delay for more Fargo has only heightened the anticipation.

As the loosely connected anthology's stories about average people whose lives become complicated by criminal activity have unfolded, the show has gone to several time periods and unexpected places. Season 4, which will star Chris Rock, is no different. To date, Fargo has given us a nice mix of hit men, cover-ups, and robberies gone wrong, so what will the dark comedy explore next -- and when? Let's take a closer look.

Fargo was actually supposed to premiere in April 2020, but just ahead of its release in March, the series was put on hold indefinitely. The show was one of the first titles forced to suspend production and alter its release due to the coronavirus pandemic, shutting down in mid-March as the situation grew increasingly dangerous in the United States. After months of being in limbo, finally in August a new release date of Sunday, September 27 was announced, as reported by TV Line. The show will return with two new episodes airing back-to-back on FX, and they'll be available on FX on Hulu the following day.

Yep, and you can watch it right above this paragraph. Based on the trailer, Fargo Season 4 looks like it might break the mold established so far of unlikely people who get in way over their heads. Instead of focusing on an insurance man tracked by a hitman or a couple trying to cover-up a hit-and-run, Season 4 is heading back to the 1950s for a mob-themed installment. Set in Kansas City, Missouri, the season will introduce us to Chris Rock's gangster, whose crew gets into a turf war with the mafia. "They're the past, we're the future," he says in the clip. "They just don't know it yet."

While Seasons 1-3 featured 10 installments, Season 4 is upping their count to feature 11, per TV Line. It sounds like eight of those have been shot and are ready to go, based on a report by Deadline, but the final three still need to go back into production. TV Line shared that the series plans to get back on set later this August, so if everything goes as planned, the new season should be able to continue to air weekly without being forced to take a mid-season break, which many shows including Billions had to do. 

Series creator, showrunner and executive producer Noah Hawley is back at it, and is listed as the writer and director of the premiere episode, "Welcome to the Alternative Economy."

One of the best things about the Fargo TV show is seeing the casting announcements for each season and learning which actors will be coming in to try to pull off a Midwestern accent. As mentioned, this time around it's Chris Rock in the lead role -- he's playing crime boss Loy Cannon, which he's already called "the best part [he'll] ever have."

The stand-up legend isn't the only notable name set to appear. He's joined by Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore), Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire), Jessie Buckley (Chernobyl), and Ben Whishaw (A Very English Scandal), among many others. Deadwood and Justified actor Timothy Olyphant has also signed on for a recurring role as someone named Dick "Deafy" Wickware, and we are definitely here for that. Additionally, musician Andrew Bird, in his first major acting role, will play who is sure to be a delightful character named Thurman Smutney. Amber Midthunder (Legion), Anji White (The Chi), E'myri Crutchfield (Roots), Francesco Acquaroli (Suburra), and Salvatore Esposito (Gomorrah) are also in the cast.

Season 4 is heading south from the Upper Midwest of Minnesota and the Dakotas to Kansas City, Missouri. Set in the 1950s, the season focuses on the rivalry that unfolds between the established Italian mob and a rising Black crime family, led by Chis Rock's Loy Cannon, as the two groups fight to solidify their claim of Kansas City.

Season 2 may have explored crime families, but the scale of the upcoming installment and its period piece element positions the season to be something even more dramatic than fans have seen with Fargo before. Showrunner Noah Hawley spoke to this, telling Collider in fall 2019 that the new episodes are "twice the size of any story we’ve told," and called it their best thus far.

More recently, Chris Rock said to Entertainment Weekly, "It’s the biggest Fargo. The scale is tremendous. Fargo normally tells little stories that get out of hand. They’re about ordinary people, something happens, and then we get to see how evil ordinary people can be. This is quite different. We start off gangsters, so we’re beginning with bad people, and then it escalates." Oh, yah, sounds like we're in for a good one.

Need help finding something to watch? Sign up here for our weekly Streamail newsletter to get streaming recommendations delivered straight to your inbox.