It’s been well reported that the highly acclaimed Fargo television series features plenty of nods to the Coen brothers and their films. There’s no shortage of praise towards the brothers and the world they created in the original Fargo — and by extension their other films. Noah Hawley and the other creators on the show go all in to create an experience that is faithful to the Coens’ talent.
Only the Coen brothers don’t seem to care all that much. In a new interview with Radio Times, the directorial duo admit that they are tuning in to every episode of Fargo and taking joy in how the show portrays their past work. In fact, they’re pretty clear about their feelings:
“We’re just not very interested. I mean, we’re perfectly happy with it. We have no problem with it. It just feels divorced from our film somehow”
That could be much, much worse. If the Coens hated the show and wished Noah Hawley ill in their interview, that might be heartbreaking. I’m sure it’s a little rough as it is, but the show wasn’t created for Joel and Ethan Coen. It was created for fans and people who enjoy good television.
One of the reasons they don’t seem too interested seems to be the format. They work in film and seem to enjoy their little forays into these stories, not sticking with characters for a longer period of time:
“Our longest movie (‘No Country for Old Men’) is two hours two minutes. It’s just not how we think about stories. I mean, after two hours with a character, we feel we’re pretty much done with them,” Joel said.
So it’s not too shocking. It’d be different if the show as a terrible mess that tried too hard to be like a Coen brothers TV show. Fargo is a damn fine show and really stands as a treat for fans that moves on to stand on its own as great television. If the Coens couldn’t care less about the show, so what?
(Via Radio Times / IndieWire)
