Stranger Things Star Joe Keery Joins One Of TV’s Greatest Shows
Stranger Things will be ending soon, but one of its breakout stars has already found a new gig with TV's most acclaimed show.
This article is more than 2 years old
Stranger Things may be ending soon, but it looks like star Joe Keery has his next television project lined up. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Joe Keery will be starring in the upcoming fifth season of the FX dark comedy-drama series Fargo. While Fargo might not be as monumentally popular and record-breaking as Stranger Things, it is one of the best and most critically acclaimed shows on television and quite a step forward for Joe Keery. While there are few details available so far for the next season of Fargo, it can be safely assumed that a character named Gator Tillman will probably have an odd and colorful backstory.
Stranger Things is currently gearing up for the release of its fifth and final season, in which Joe Keery will reprise his role as Steve Harrington. Joe Keery was originally cast to play Steve as a stereotypical unlikeable jock (which fits with the 1980s cinematic tropes of the show) and according to series creators the Duffer Brothers, was intended to be killed off in the first season of the show. However, the actor’s strong performance as Steve eventually influenced them to not only have him survive but be increasingly written as a character steadily growing into a kinder, more understanding person. Stranger Things found one of its breakout characters in Joe Keery’s Steve Harrington and his journey from king of a small town high school to frustrated has-been mall worker to parental figure to a bunch of weird kids who can’t stop getting attacked by monsters.
The television series Fargo is actually the second attempt to adapt the 1996 Academy Award-winning Coen Brothers film of the same name, after a failed pilot directed by Kathy Bates in 1997. Post-Stranger Things, Joe Keery will be joining a fifth-season cast that already includes heavy-hitters like Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Juno Temple (Ted Lasso), and Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight). Along with Joe Keery, it was announced that Lamorne Morris (New Girl) and Richa Moorjani (Never Have I Ever) will be joining the cast of Fargo’s next season. As of yet, there is no announced release date for the fifth season of either Stranger Things or Fargo, but it is generally expected they may both premiere sometime in 2023, which would make it the year of Joe Keery.
The newest season of Fargo has been announced to take place in 2019. The show has generally made time jumps from season to season, with the previous four seasons taking place in 2006, 1979, 2010, and 1950 so far. While Stranger Things largely made stars out of its young cast, including Joe Keery, Fargo has generally attracted more established stars. The first season primarily starred Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman, along with Alison Tolman and Colin Hanks, while the second brought in Patrick Wilson, Kirsten Dunst, and Ted Danson. The third season of Fargo featured Ewan McGregor in a dual role, along with Mary Elizabeth Winstead and David Thewlis. The fourth and most recent season starred Chris Rock, Jessie Buckley, and Jason Schwartzman. All of this is to say, after Stranger Things, Joe Keery is joining pretty good company.
