JuicyTalk
Twin Peaks is a show that’s virtually unique in the history of television, but the closest thing it has to a small-screen successor might just be Fox’s acclaimed noir comedy-drama Fargo. The TV series based on Joel and Ethan Coen’s seminal 1996 movie is perhaps more reminiscent of the ‘90s masterpiece than anything else.
As one of the archetypal works of dark surrealism by legendary writer-director David Lynch, Twin Peaks is out on its own tonally and stylistically as well as in narrative terms. Nevertheless, Fargo’s darkest and most dangerous characters are distinctly Lynchian, and the framing of its narrative arcs in spooky, small-town Minnesota settings has plenty in common with Lynch’s show.
What’s more, it’s one of the few contemporary serial dramas that can hold a candle to Lynch at his best aesthetically. While it does neither series justice to compare them directly, it’s fair to say that Fargo’s series highlights rival even the best episodes of Twin Peaks.
Fargo Is One Of The Few TV Shows That Can Be Compared To Twin Peaks
There will probably never be a show quite like Twin Peaks, but Fargo is among just a handful of TV releases out there which is worthy of comparison with David Lynch’s landmark surrealist mystery series. The five-season crime drama is a triumph of stunning visuals, searing screen performances, and mindbending storylines which dare to challenge its audience.
If this description sounds familiar, that’s because it was precisely the visual style, daring storylines and powerful performances of Twin Peaks which set David Lynch’s show apart in the early 1990s. As unlikely as it might have seemed when the small-screen adaptation of Fargo was first announced, Noah Hawley’s groundbreaking series succeeds in rivalling Lynch at his best.
Fargo Succeeded In Adapting A Beloved Movie Into A TV Show
Fargo has accomplished what few other TV shows have ever managed before it, as the masterful adaptation of an all-time great movie, which has created its own legacy distinct from its celebrated source material. The Coen Brothers film will likely always be of greater significance in the history of screen drama, but the TV show runs it very close.
Just like the original movie version, the TV show Fargo poses as a true story. Its various anthological plots are presented in such a compelling way that the wholly fictional world of the series seems not only plausible, but entirely real. This total suspension of our disbelief makes the show’s Lynchian supernatural elements even creepier.
If You Like Twin Peaks, You Need To Give Fargo A Chance
Twin Peaks fans should enjoy Fargo even more than viewers who haven’t seen David Lynch’s greatest work of television, since Fargo’s series creator Noah Hawley has explicitly referenced the show as a source of inspiration. The debt Hawley owes to Lynch is especially obvious in Fargo’s surreal season 5 ending.
As much as the 1996 Coen Brothers movie is a prime example of their darkly comic, offbeat style, it can’t really be described as a work of surrealism in any way. Hawley’s version of Fargo, on the other hand, is unmistakably Lynchian, taking just as much from Twin Peaks as it does from the work of cinema it’s ostensibly based on.
