FX's Fargo adaptation has cast its first law enforcement officer.
Dexter grad Colin Hanks has boarded the network's reboot of Joel and Ethan Coen's feature film, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The 10-episode limited series is inspired by the Coen brothers' 1996 best picture nominee and will follow an all-new "true crime" story with a new case and characters all seeped in the humor, murder and "Minnesota nice" of the original.
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Hanks will play Gus Grimly, a police deputy and single dad who must choose between his own personal safety and his duty as a policeman when he comes face-to-face with a killer. He joins a cast top-lined by Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton, who will portray the Steve Buscemi role of Lorne Malvo, the rootless, manipulative man who meets a small-town insurance salesman (played in FX's take by Sherlock's Martin Freeman) and sets him on a path of destruction.
Fargo hails from My Generation's Noah Hawley, who will pen the script as well as executive produce. Joel and Ethan Coen, the writers, directors and producers behind the film starring Frances McDormand, William H. Macy and Buscemi, are on board to exec produce alongside former network chief-turned-producer Warren Littlefield and Geyer Kosinski. Emmy winner Adam Bernstein (30 Rock) will direct the premiere.
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Production on the effort from MGM Television and FX Productions is set to begin in October, for a spring 2014 premiere. MGM Television will be the lead studio and will handle worldwide distribution of the series outside of the U.S. and Canada.
Fargo marks Hanks' latest TV role. In addition to one season of Showtime's Dexter, his small-screen credits include Happy Endings, NCIS, The Good Guys, Mad Men and Roswell. On the big screen, Hanks' recent projects include Parkland, The Guilt Trip and the upcoming No Stranger Than Love. He's repped by UTA, the Schiff Co. and Bloom Hergott.
E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
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