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'Ted Lasso' star is most likely playing a Minnesotan in the fifth season of 'Fargo'

The upcoming installment will debut Nov. 21 on FX.

By Neal Justin

August 17, 2023 at 5:18PM

Juno Temple will play the run-of-the-mill housewife Dorothy Lyon in the fifth season of “Fargo.” (FX/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

"Fargo" is coming home.

After a season in which most of the action took place in Kansas City, the award-winning series will now take place in Minnesota and North Dakota, mirroring the setting for the original 1996 movie.

FX revealed Thursday a Nov. 21 premiere for the fifth season, as well as a few previously undisclosed details.

Here's what we know: Juno Temple, best known for playing a super-sweet consultant on "Ted Lasso," will portray Dorothy "Dot" Lyon, a seemingly typical Midwest housewife who gets pulled back into a life she thought she had left behind. It's unclear where she's based when trouble comes but clues point to it being somewhere in the Twin Cities.

Coming to her aid is mother-in-law Lorraine Lyon (Oscar nominee Jennifer Jason Leigh), the CEO of the largest debt collection agency in the country, and an attorney, Danish Graves ("Kids in the Hall" veteran Dave Foley).

Among those going after Dot are a North Dakota sheriff, played by "Mad Men" star Jon Hamm, and a Minnesota police deputy, played by Richa Moorjani, whom you may recognize from "Never Have I Ever."

The story, which will take place over 10 episodes, is set in 2019.

In many ways, this season may have the most in common with the film, directed and written by Joel and Ethan Coen of St. Louis Park.

"Noah has always found a way of respecting and making references to the Coen brothers movies, which in my view is a classic. He's also inventing new settings and stories," FX Network president John Landgraf said when plans for the fifth season were first announced, way back in February 2022. "This particular season has a particular echo of the original movie. It rhymes with the original movie, but it isn't the original movie."

Boasting a star-studded cast is nothing new for the series. Previous cast members have included Billy Bob Thornton, Chris Rock, Kirsten Dunst, Ted Danson, Jessie Buckley and Ewan McGregor.

There is at least one genuine Minnesotan in the mix: David Rysdahl, who plays Temple's husband, grew up in New Ulm and was a member of Winona's Great River Shakespeare Festival. He can currently be seen in "Oppenheimer."

about the writer

Neal Justin

Critic / Reporter

Neal Justin is the pop-culture critic, covering how Minnesotans spend their entertainment time. He also reviews stand-up comedy. Justin previously served as TV and music critic for the paper. He is the co-founder of JCamp, a non-profit program for high-school journalists, and works on many fronts to further diversity in newsrooms.