While the show based on the Coen brothers’ film remains stacked with stars, its latest series on warring Italian and black factions in 50s Missouri fails to shine
Nothing says “important television” like a 20-minute prologue – and the fourth season of Fargo (Channel 4) has a good one. Narrated in the form of a school report by a teenage girl, Ethelrida, it tells the story of Kansas City, Missouri, in the early 20th century. Warring groups of immigrants control the criminal underworld. As the decades pass, the identities of the newcomers change, but a longstanding tradition remains the same: the youngest son of one family is swapped for the youngest son of the other. The idea is that, through mutual sacrifice, each gang might reach an understanding that would preclude the need for violence. The reality is that it is just as much a part of the cycle as the rest of it – and the exchange has always ended in betrayal and bloodshed.
For some reason, this has never stopped the practice. By 1950, the opposing factions are Italian and black, with remnants of the Irish and Jewish families that came before them lingering in the ranks. Chris Rock is Loy Cannon, while his rival is Josto Fadda, played by Jason Schwartzman, the son and heir of the big boss, Donatella. Neither group has much time for the other, but they are in the truce stage of affairs, swapping youngest sons, waiting to see who will be the first to crack or if the calm will continue.
