Disney's Unpredictable 10-Part Crime Thriller Saga is So Good, You'll Finish it in One Weekend

Two Ewan McGregors for the price of one.

As far as I’m concerned, you can never have too much Ewan McGregor. The Scottish actor was the best part of the Star Wars prequels and he’s relentlessly charming in the forgotten Tim Burton film Big Fish. Which is why, when one of my favorite shows suddenly announced that McGregor would be playing not just one but two leading roles in its next season, I was delighted by the choice.

Fargo is an FX anthology series inspired by the 1996 Coen brothers film. Created by Noah Hawley (Alien: Earth), it deals with similar themes and locations to the film — usually ordinary people in Minnesota getting in over their head with a local crime syndicate. After the first two seasons adhered fairly closely to the darkly comedic thriller vibe of the film, season 3 got a bit more ambitious with how weird it was, which is precisely why it’s worth checking out for a good weekend binge on Hulu.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR2i8-z_fvc

Fargo season 3 tells the story of the Stussy brothers, twins who wind up in very different places in life. Emmit (McGregor) is a wealthy, well-adjusted family man who is professionally known as the “Parking Lot King of Minnesota.” Meanwhile, Ray (also McGregor) is a down-on-his-luck parole officer who resents his brother’s success. Ray is also convinced that he was tricked by Emmit when their father passed away, when Emmit sneakily claimed a valuable stamp collection, while convincing his brother into taking their dad's flashier (but less valuable) Corvette.

The brothers were estranged for years, but their lives suddenly begin to change when Ray blackmails one of his parolees into stealing Emmit's most valuable stamp. He’s doing this so that he can afford an engagement ring for his girlfriend (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who is another parolee of his. Meanwhile, a mysterious man named V. M. Varga (David Thewlis) comes to Emmit to collect on the money he borrowed from a shady company.

Despite what may seem like a pretty standard crime thriller setup, season 3 of Fargo is very weird, and that’s what’s so great about it. First of all, there’s the twin brother thing, and McGregor has the time of his life playing both roles. He really seems to enjoy doing the Minnesota accent, which he lays on delightfully thick. Both roles are entirely different, though, and you often forget the same guy is playing them. The most fun sequence comes when Ray, who has retained a lot less hair than his successful brother, disguises himself as Emmit, complete with a terrible wig.

There are other wonderful performances, too. David Thewlis as V. M. Varga is a vile force of pure evil with grayish-brown teeth and a presence that is genuinely creepy, delivering eerie monologues about the fall of civilization as he hollows out Emmit's company from within. Russell Harvard returns as deaf assassin Mr. Wrench, a standout character from season 1 and one of the very few characters to appear in more than one season. Winstead also shines as Ray’s parolee girlfriend Nikki Swango, who feeds into all of his worst impulses.

Like the first two seasons of Fargo, season 3 has lots of twists and turns and completely unexpected deaths. There is also some very dark humor in this season, in keeping with the original Coen brothers film Fargo and maybe venturing into the even darker, and considerably broader, territory of their 2008 film, Burn After Reading.

Season 3 of Fargo may not be the best season of the series, as that distinction belongs to season 2. Nor is it the most faithful to the original film, as that’s season 1. Season 3, however, is definitely the weirdest season of the series, and that takes into account the fact that season 2 has a UFO.

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All seasons of Fargo the series are available on Hulu.