Filmmaking brothers Joel and Ethan Coen will be adapting their Oscar-winning 1996 film "Fargo" into a television series for Fox's FX network, according to an announcement from the network on Friday.
"Fargo" is a dark comedy about crime in a rural Midwestern town that starred Frances McDormand and William H. Macy. The television show will be a ten episode mini series inspired by the film. The Choen brothers will executive produce.
According to Reuters, FX will film the series in Canada and is expected to premiere the series on its basic cable platform in the spring of 2014.
Billy Bob Thornton will play Lorne Malvo, a character described by the network as "a rootles, manipulative man who meets a small town insurance salesman and sets him on a path of destruction." There will be a new case and characters from the movie in the show.
The 1996 film won the Oscar for Best Actress and Best Screenplay for the Coen brothers. The film was included in the American Film Institute's 100 Greatest American Movies list. It ha also been included in the U.S. National Film Registry since 2006.
This is the first major television project the two have worked on. While the small screen is new for them, they've made quite the name for themselves in the film industry with projects like Fargo. Other projects from the Coen brothers include: "The Big Lebowski," "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and the 2007 Oscar-winner "No Country for Old Men."
"Fargo" will join upcoming miniseries "Wayward Pines," from director M. Night Shyamalan, starring Matt Dillon, on FX. The network is reportedly making an attempt to produce more miniseries and limited series through its production brand. Miniseries are particularly hot right now as services like Netflix and Amazon have been working to produce smaller format series that people can binge watch via their video streaming services. Some day in the future this could be the format for Fargo.
FX network has become a home for critically acclaimed shows both in comedy and drama. Fargo will join the ranks of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "Sons of Anarchy," "Archer" and "Ryan Murphy's Emmy-nominated series "American Horror Story."
