It seems natural that when producers first started considering a TV version of "Fargo," they would turn to a former Minnesotan who co-created "Twin Peaks," a model for any show about the weirdness of small-town America.

So they did. Mark Frost, who spent his teenage years in Minneapolis, said he was approached shortly after the 1996 movie came out and seriously considered writing a pilot, perhaps starring his sister, Lindsay Frost. He ultimately decided not to do it.

A TV pilot for "Fargo" was eventually created in 1997 by Bruce Paltrow and Robert Palm, directed by Oscar winner Kathy Bates and starring future "Sopranos" star Edie Falco as Marge Gunderson. That attempt was never picked up as a series and aired only on the now defunct Trio network six years later as a novelty.

Frost said he's a fan of the current FX incarnation, particularly the second season.

"Twin Peaks" may be set in Washington state and heavily influenced by the summers Frost spent in upstate New York as a child, but growing up in Minnesota did help shape the characters.

"I spent enough time in those communities north of Minneapolis that they had to inform some of the choices we made on what life in a small town is like," said Frost, whose new take on "Peaks" begins airing Sunday on Showtime. "There's a kind of laconic, straightforward, simple way of expressing themselves."

NEAL JUSTIN