When FX first announced it was turning the Coen Brothers’ classic 1996 movie, “Fargo,” into a TV series, it’s safe to say no one really knew what more story there was to tell. The movie — which starred the then-unknown, now-iconic cast of Frances McDormand, William H. Macy and Steve Buscemi — told a self-contained tale, in which the bad guys got justice and the good guys won.

Ultimately, that’s how Noah Hawley’s reimagining of the movie turned out as well, but no one expected how rich and surprising this new journey would be. The initial promo campaign offered a solid glimpse, however.

FX’s “Fargo” wrapped its run on Tuesday night, averaging 4.4 million viewers per episode with seven-day viewing factored in. Ratings information for the finale was still forthcoming at press time. Besides that live performance, FX has an opportunity to gain viewership once the series begins its digital afterlife.

Like it’s peer — HBO’s “True Detective” — “Fargo” is a creature that can only exist because of the way TV has changed. In an attempt to use event programming to attract viewers, studios and networks are now willing to finance 10- or 13-episode limited series. While that’s a model that has long existed in the UK, the mini-series had been on the wane in the U.S. because its short, non-repeatable run had become to difficult to justify from a business point of view. But with the new on-demand, multiplatform world, almost any format is possible. And that’s resulting in some great television.

Also like “True Detective,” “Fargo” may now head into a second season, even though that wasn’t necessarily the original plan. Spoiler alert ahead: The show ended with Molly (Allison Tolman) and Gus’ (Colin Hanks) new and growing family intact, and Molly prepping to have a baby and then take over as the chief of police. If Hawley’s inventiveness on season one is any indication, there are certainly more stories to tell.

As Hawley told Vulture’s Denise Martin, who asked: “When you think about next season, do you worry about the freshness of the idea being gone? People were skeptical at first but now you’ll have high expectations for any kind of follow-up.”

Hawley: “Now they’re gonna see me coming, right? It was such an impossible task to take on in the first place and the only way to do it was to trust my instincts. I had no idea the show would work as well as it did. I just sat in a room with a few writers and we bounced stuff off the wall, and if we really liked something, we put it into the show, and if we didn’t, then we didn’t. So I would do it the same way again. I wouldn’t want to repeat myself, that’s for sure.”

But on the flip side, much of “Fargo"’s excellent cast — Billy Bob Thornton as strategic sociopath Lorne Malvo and Martin Freeman as his own sort of sociopath, albeit in a far more mild-mannered package — will not be returning, largely due to their character’s status at the end of the show.

It’s the same problem that “True Detective” faces: Season one blew everyone’s minds, but much of the reason why was because of the excellent performances from movie stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. Without that cast in place, can the magic be recreated?

Sometimes amazing first seasons are followed by flops: Showtime’s Emmy-winning “Homeland” foundered creatively in season two, and was widely considered to go off the rails in season three. On the other hand, sometimes promising first seasons, such as FX’s “The Americans,” are followed by nearly perfect second seasons.

The possibility of getting to see Hawley and his team besting themselves is good enough reason to take this show into season two.

Read more: Variety

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