Between the Coen brothers’ legacy and Noah Hawley’s new ideas: “Fargo” TV series and the question of authorship

The current television landscape is witnessing a resurgence of adaptations, including those inspired by films. Fargo is one of these series that has earned its adaptation status not through a continuation of the original plot but through its parallel narrative, characters, and, above all, atmosphere. This approach by the creators raises several questions, one of which, the issue of authorship in television adaptations, is the focus of this article. The text presents Noah Hawley, the showrunner of the series, as an author while acknowledging that the television adaptation of Fargo is the result of an ongoing creative negotiation between Hawley and the film’s creators, the Coen brothers. An analysis of individual seasons and the showrunner’s statements reveals the nuances of this dialogue. Hawley’s most significant authorial innovation proves to be the shift in the story’s focus: Hawley’s Fargo is no longer just a story about Minnesota and its inhabitants but about America in a temporal context.