Patrick Wilson’s Best Character Almost Got His Own Show
When it was announced that Noah Hawley would be developing an anthology-style TV series inspired by the Coen brothers’ 1996 classic Fargo, people were a little skeptical. However, Hawley has proved skeptics wrong and brought us five seasons of fantastic television so far, creating numerous characters that fit perfectly into the Coen brothers’ catalog. One of those characters is Patrick Wilson’s Lou Solverson, and executive producer Warren Littlefield almost convinced Hawley to make a spin-off out of him.
In a recent interview with Variety, Noah Hawley talked about this conversation, saying, “When we finished the second season of “Fargo,” Warren Littlefield came to me and said, “I think there’s a show in Patrick Wilson.” However, Hawley ultimately decided that it wouldn’t fit the show’s anthology ethos, saying, “And as much as I would love that show, that’s not what the exercise is,” adding, “All of these are standalone stories, at the end of which, for whoever is still alive, life gets a little more normal.” As cool as it would be to see some of these memorable characters come back, it seems like Hawley won’t be re-using characters anytime soon.
The Fargo TV series first hit screens in 2014 and was good enough to get the Coen brothers to agree to be executive producers. The first season starred Billy Bob Thorton, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, and Martin Freeman and received widespread critical acclaim, receiving a whopping 18 Emmy nominations and winning the Outstanding Miniseries, Directing, and Casting awards. Patrick Wilson would make his appearance in the second season along with Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Jean Smart, and Ted Danson.
Like the first season, the second season of Fargo was widely praised. Taking place in 1970s Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, the season followed Peggy and Ed Blumquist (Dunst and Plemons) as they try to cover up Peggy’s hit-and-run of a member of the Gerhardt crime family. A triple homicide connected to the Gerdharts also entangles Minnesota State Trooper Lou Solverson (Patrick Wilson) and his father-in-law, Sheriff Hank Larsson (Danson).
Patrick Wilson’s season came out in 2015, and then the third season came out in 2017 after a brief hiatus. The next hiatus would last much longer, with the fourth season coming out in 2020. Fans would have to wait years again for the fifth season, which just premiered in November of last year and aired its finale earlier this week.
Fargo is one of the most consistently great TV shows out there, and although it would have been fun to see Patrick Wilson reprise his role, it seems like Hawley’s vision for the series is the right one. If we get another season of Fargo, we can expect a brand new cast of characters brought to life by some of the best actors in the business. The most recent season had a star-studded cast as well, which included Juno Temple, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Joe Keery, Lamorne Morris, and Sam Spruell.
Although you can’t see Patrick Wilson in the most recent season of Fargo, you can catch him in theaters reprising the role of Orm in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. He’s also set to star in the upcoming The Conjuring: Last Rites. You can watch season five of Fargo now on Hulu.
