Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton will soon be seen on the small screen. The actor has signed on to star in Fargo, a TV series based upon the film of the same name.
FX President John Landgraf stated Friday that Thornton signed on to a limited series based on the 1996 crime comedy-drama. The show is slated to appear for 10 episodes on FX in Spring 2014. Thornton will play Lorne Malvo, a “rootless, manipulative man who meets a small-town insurance salesman and sets him on a path of destruction.”
The series will be independent of the film, which was about a pregnant police officer tracking down incompetent criminals who a car salesman hired to kidnap his wife. The movie was released in 1996 and received seven Oscar nominations, winning two. Joel and Ethan Coen won for Best Original Screenplay and Frances McDormand won for Best Actress.
The Coens will serve as executive producers of the new television series and Noah Hawley will write all 10 episodes. The series will have new characters and storylines, but will remain to have the dark humor that was displayed in the film.
No other cast members for the new series have been announced.
