FX is moving forward with a Fargo adaptation.
Network president John Landgraf announced during his first upfront presentation Thursday that it will launch a 10-episode adaptation of the 1996 best picture Oscar nominee as a limited series during spring 2014. The move comes as the network looks to push into limited and miniseries fare, a bid to compete with premiere channel HBO and to fill a void left by the increasingly tentpole-focused film industry.
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The effort hails from from My Generation's Noah Hawley, who will pen the script. Joel and Ethan Coen, the writers, directors and producers behind the film starring Frances McDormand, William H. Macy and Steve Buscemi, are on board to executive produce the effort from MGM Television and FX Productions.
Fargo, which earned McDormand an Oscar for her leading performance as a pregnant sheriff in the North Dakota town, starred Macy as a simple car salesman who hires two idiots (Buscemi, Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife in an extortion plot that goes horribly wrong. The Coens won a screenplay Oscar for the feature, which also earned nominations for Macy's supporting turn and direction, among others.
The news comes amid a slew of announcements, including renewals for Justified, The League, Legit, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and the expansion of Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell to a five-night-a-week strip.
Email: Lacey.Rose@THR.com; Twitter: @LaceyVRose
