Coen Brothers' Fargo in TV rehash

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]hey’ve carved out a reputation for bringing us the unconventional, surreal and, at times, downright weird, but now the Coen Brothers have surprised everyone with plans to bring their seminal flick, Fargo, to the TV screen for US channel FX.

Rumoured to be a series split into ten hour-long parts, the dramatisation will be a loose version of the Oscar-winning film. As for Joel and Ethan themselves, they will be working in the capacity of executive producers, with Noah Hawley (Bones) providing the script. But with the dynamic duo overseeing the project, it is hoped that it will maintain that quintessential Coen Brothers humour.

It will follow a brand new storyline and set of characters, one of which, Lorne Malvo, will be played by Billy Bob Thornton. Twice a collaborator with the brothers in the past, through Intolerable Cruelty and The Man Who Wasn’t There, there will doubtless be many who think that Bad Santa himself will be just the man to fit the bill.

Perhaps the only downside for aficionados is that the overhaul of the original big-screen version will mean that there’ll almost certainly be no chance of a return for Frances McDormand. It was her standout performance as Marge, the pregnant cop in hot pursuit of two hapless crooks, that won the 1996 Best Actress Oscar, alongside the Coens’ best original screenplay award, completing a memorable double for Fargo. Still, you can’t have it all.

With a back catalogue that also includes such cult favourites as The Big Lebowski and No Country for Old Men, the bros have nothing to prove when it comes to making a movie, but with TV it could well be a case of unfinished business. Their one and, until now, only foray into the small screen was a show called Harve Karbo, yet this never saw the light of day – a major black mark on the CV of two multiple Oscar winners!

This hotly-anticipated reworking will be shot on location in Canada and is due to hit American screens in the spring of next year.