By Kari Croop , based on child development research. How do we rate?
Dark drama brings violence to Midwest; strong female leads.
Parents need to know that Fargo is inspired by the Coen brothers' same-named movie—and, like the film, tells stories that paint a bleak, darkly comic portrait of Midwest towns that blossom into hotbeds of murderous activity. Expect lots of bloody and creative violence: Characters, including many innocent…
Violence isn't constant, but when it happens, it's very graphic: blood spraying,
"F--k" is used infrequently, but there's plenty of "s--t," "ass," "damn," "godda
Sex, Romance & NuditySexual content varies from season to season, with the first being the most inten
Drinking, Drugs & SmokingCharacters infrequently snort cocaine and talk about acid and "scoring weed," an
Products & PurchasesCharacters drink Miller Lite in several scenes, and one season prominently featu
Most characters across the series are White men. But heroes skew strongly female
Positive Role ModelsA few hopeful characters have integrity, perseverance, courage: Molly is a persi
Positive MessagesThere's an ongoing search for truth and justice, but the overarching theme is th
Violence isn't constant, but when it happens, it's very graphic: blood spraying, spurting, pouring. Characters, including innocent bystanders, are killed by gory stabbings, gunshots, bludgeoning, throat slitting, strangling, decapitation. They're buried alive, poisoned, and crushed by falling objects. Close-ups on gruesome injuries include a broken shin, an infected wound, broken and rotted teeth with bleeding gums, etc. Dismemberment of ears, arms, fingers, with severed body parts shown. A dead body is disposed of with a meat grinder; another lies in a morgue with skull sawed open, brain visible. Parents howl in grief over seeing or hearing about their children being dead (though sometimes the child is actually still alive). A kid is coerced by an adult into shooting and killing another child. Mass shootings with visible dead bodies. An adult is cruelly bullied by his high school tormentor. A mother/wife has cancer; discussions and images of chemotherapy. Shots of animal cruelty include a dead deer in a trunk, a dog with a slit throat. Teens play with crossbows, accidentally shooting one another. A man's shower runs with pig's blood; he screams. A character ritualistically bathes in animal blood. Crickets infest a supermarket, covering everything; shoppers scream and run. Characters vomit and fart. A man takes his pants off and sits on a toilet; splashing sound heard (nothing sensitive visible). Close-ups on streams of urine going into cups for drug testing and on a bloody used tampon. A man lies and manipulates a woman into having sex; during sex she says "You're hurting me," and he briefly apologizes but doesn't stop. The series generally avoids depictions of sexual assault, but Season 5 centers on a survivor's story of domestic, underage sexual abuse; victim shown pursued and held hostage by her abuser. She discusses her painful history with others (no sexual violence shown on-screen), and forensic photos of her battered body are handled by a police officer.
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"F--k" is used infrequently, but there's plenty of "s--t," "ass," "damn," "goddamn," "hell," "piss," "bitch," "p---y," "t-ts," "d--k," "c--ksucker," "whore," and "pr--k." "Oh my God" and "Jesus Christ" are used as exclamations. Overt bigots spew hate speech with words like "fairy," "retard," "cripple," "chief," "miscegenation," "dykes," "wop," etc. A White character with the last name "Nygaard" is taunted by another White character who calls him "N--gered" (a pun on the "N" word). He's also called "Chief Wigwam" for using a bow and arrow. White characters casually say "Chinaman," "gooks," "oriental," "half-breed," "hermaphrodites"; call Native people "red man" and "the Indian" (sometimes to their face); and mispronounce "Arabs" as "Ay-rabs." None of it is portrayed as inappropriate. Other terms used neutrally in 1950s settings include "Negro," "colored," and "Mormon." Rude hand gestures such as jerking off accompanied with the line "She gave me a tug once" and middle-finger gestures. Sexually explicit language ("I let you come inside of me," "I can still feel your finger in my ass," etc.).
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Sexual content varies from season to season, with the first being the most intense. Characters have sex, including oral sex, on-screen—they're shirtless and in underwear or implied naked, with nude butts occasionally visible. A couple takes a bath together, scenes take place at a strip club, and characters indulge in consensual kinks like BDSM and erotic asphyxiation. Teens throw around a naked plastic blow-up doll. Through a window, a Hasidic Jewish woman takes off her wig, then makes eye contact with a man and takes off her dress to reveal her bra and panties. Characters occasionally appear in nonsexual situations wearing just their underwear (boxers, bra and panties). Themes of sexual violence come up in Season 5—see Violence & Scariness.
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Characters infrequently snort cocaine and talk about acid and "scoring weed," and a few struggle with addiction. Characters also occasionally drink alcohol (rarely appearing drunk), and characters—mostly portrayed as unlikable—smoke cigarettes, pipes, and vape, including once inside a hospital. A victim's painkiller is swapped out for Adderall without his knowledge. A kid is pressured by an adult into taking a swig from a flask. A serial killer poisons her victims with strychnine and other substances. A minor character sells a wide range of drugs from the back of a van.
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Characters drink Miller Lite in several scenes, and one season prominently features The Nightmare Before Christmas songs, Halloween costumes, and merchandise. Characters also mention Rachel Ray, Dairy Queen, Arby's, Bill Blass, Hamburger Helper, Facebook, Google, Bisquick pancakes, etc. A scene in Las Vegas shows hotels like the Mirage and a billboard for Phantom of the Opera.
Most characters across the series are White men. But heroes skew strongly female, with women like Molly Solverson, Gloria Burgle, and Dorothy Lyon shown as braver and more strategic than their male peers. Morally gray women like Peggy Blumquist and Lorraine Lyon are also written as whip-smart and independent. Men of color begin as tokenized one-offs, usually as enforcers working for White villains, and there's lots of racist language used to portray White characters as ignorant (see Language section for more details). Early in the series, women of color are mostly absent—and hyper-sexualized when they do appear. (A minor Hasidic Jewish character takes her wig and clothes off in front of a window to entice a male neighbor, and an East Asian co-worker throws herself at her White colleague before getting shot and killed.) But the series ramps up its inclusiveness after Season 4, which has several nuanced roles for Black and Italian immigrant characters and also begins to cast women of color in key roles, including actors E'myri Crutchfield (who's Black American) and Season 5's Richa Moorjani (who's Indian American). The series makes several neutral Jewish references (an episode is named after the Jewish parable "The Rooster Prince," a character named Paul Marrane clearly represents the mythical Wandering Jew, etc.), and a U.S. Marshal who's a Latter-day Saint is portrayed as a religious zealot. There's positive disability representation for White men: An assassin in an important, recurring role is deaf and played by deaf actor Russell Harvard. Charlie Gerhardt has cerebral palsy, also played authentically by Allan Dobrescu. Odis, in a pivotal role, has obsessive compulsive disorder that's portrayed realistically. But a minor character has a stroke and appears for most of a season in a wheelchair; he's nonverbal and powerless. There are a few LGBTQ+ characters in minor and supporting roles: A dad is in a stable relationship with another man, and the mom and son are supportive. Two well-rounded female characters are romantically involved; they kiss and are shown in love but are eventually killed. Another woman implied to be a lesbian—she manipulates and flirts with a female co-worker in several scenes—is strangled to death off-screen. There's almost no body diversity across the series; at best, deputy Solverson is slightly bigger than the other women in Fargo and gets a romantic story arc and a happy ending. Less positive is the portrayal of one villain's implied bulimia (he induces vomit after meals, has rotted teeth, and scenes of him binge-eating are conveyed as grotesque), and one of the series' stockier characters is a maniacal gangster who relishes killing for fun.
Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.A few hopeful characters have integrity, perseverance, courage: Molly is a persistent sheriff's deputy, her dad Lou and later season's Rabbi Milligan and Deputy Witt Farr are caring protectors, Chief of Police Gloria Burgle has small-town pragmatism, clever student Ethelrida stays optimistic and honest despite the racist society she lives in, and suburban mom Dorothy is a fierce and street-smart survivor. But more characters (by far) have questionable moral compasses and a taste for violence. Some, such as salesman Lester Nygaard, corrupt parole officer Ray Stussy, gang leader Loy Cannon, and politically powerful Lorraine Lyon, do bad things for understandable reasons. Others, including assassin Lorne Malvo, extreme capitalist V.M. Varga, Italian Mafioso Gaetano Fadda, and vigilante sheriff Roy Tillman, are portrayed simply as violent, power-hungry monsters.
There's an ongoing search for truth and justice, but the overarching theme is that the world is bleak and treacherous. Evil deeds such as murder, kidnapping, bribery, lying, etc., aren't condoned and eventually have consequences, but many good and innocent people are hurt, killed, and martyred in the process.
Parents need to know that Fargo is inspired by the Coen brothers' same-named movie—and, like the film, tells stories that paint a bleak, darkly comic portrait of Midwest towns that blossom into hotbeds of murderous activity. Expect lots of bloody and creative violence: Characters, including many innocent bystanders, are killed by gory stabbings, gunshots, bludgeoning, throat slitting, strangling, and decapitation. A dead body is disposed of with a meat grinder, and another lies in a morgue with its skull sawed open, brain visible. The series avoids depictions of sexual assault, but one storyline revolves around a survivor of sexual and domestic abuse—she's pursued and kidnapped by her ex-husband. Characters infrequently snort cocaine and talk about acid and "scoring weed," and a few struggle with addiction. Characters also occasionally drink alcohol (rarely appearing drunk) and some—mostly portrayed as unlikable—smoke cigarettes and pipes and vape. Sexual content varies from season to season, with the first being the most intense. Characters have simulated sex, including oral sex, on-screen—they're shirtless and in underwear or implied naked, nude butts occasionally visible. The word "f--k" is sparingly used, but there's plenty of "s--t," "ass," "goddamn," "hell," "bitch," "p---y," "t-ts," "d--k," etc. Overt bigots spew hate speech and say "fairy," "retard," "cripple," "miscegenation," and "dykes," while offensive terms like "Chinaman," "gook," "red man," and "half-breed" are used in neutral contexts by White characters. Across the series, most characters are White men, but heroes skew strongly female. Men of color are tokenized early on, mostly shown as enforcers for White villains, but Season 4 has many Black and Italian immigrant characters in nuanced roles. Women of color are at first invisible or hyper-sexualized, but become more visible and well-rounded in later seasons. There's positive representation for White men with disabilities, including a man with cerebral palsy, a man with obsessive compulsive disorder, and a deaf character—all in key supporting roles. Topline themes are dark, showing how good people can make poor decisions that spin wildly out of control, with innocent people—including many that viewers get to know and love—caught in the crosshairs. This mature drama features many recognizable actors, including Martin Freeman, Kirsten Dunst, Ewan McGregor, Chris Rock, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and others.
