Entertainment

Old Favorites Could Pop Up On 'Fargo' Season 3

Chris Large/FX

After taking the reins of the based-on-a-true-story-but-not-really world originally crafted by the Coen Brothers in the 1996 film, the Fargo television show has been playing with continuity by telling unique, individual stories that call back and forth to one another from season to season. If any Fargo characters are returning for Season 3, premiering April 19, the show is keeping it well-hidden, to surprise the audience should the occasion arise. While the show has toyed with the idea of certain characters reappearing, Season 3 might actually be the most likely candidate for a full-on crossover between characters.

Season 1 of Fargo mostly harkens back to the original movie in tone, theme, and score – with the exception of answering a crucial question about some lost money, which happens to fund a supermarket empire. Season 2 borrows far more from Season 1, including a younger version of Lou Solverson and a flash-forward dream sequence that marks the brief return of Season 1's Molly Solverson and Gus Grimly.

The stories of Season 2 and Season 3 are nearly 40 years apart (and also – SPOILERS – nearly everyone ends up dead by the end of Season 2, anyway). But with the stories of Season 1 and 3 being only four years apart (2014 and 2010, respectively), the crossover potential is higher than ever. Here are some of the past Fargo characters most likely to show up in Season 3.

Molly Solverson

She's the protagonist of the original season of the Fargo television series, so the chances of Bemidji Deputy Molly Solverson running into Season 3's Eden Valley Chief of Police Gloria Burgle at some point are especially high. Solverson has experience with one of the northern midwest's greatest crime sprees and could believably have some input on the multiple murders guaranteed to happen in Fargo Season 3. Minnesota may be big, but so are the odds that these to will cross paths.

Gus Grimly

One of the few main characters to not only survive their season of Fargo, but also make a cameo in another season, Gus Grimly is just a Duluth officer. But to most of Minnesota, that makes him a big-time city cop. He also managed to put an end to a fearsome mass killer in the form of Lorne Malvo, so chances are he's something of a hero among midwest police. A phone call to Grimly might do the police of Fargo Season 3 well.

Marge Gunderson

Marge Gunderson showing up on the Fargo television show would be a huge deal. Frances McDormand's Oscar-winning role of the pregnant Brainerd police chief has rightfully gone down as one of the greatest characters in cinematic history. The purportedly-true events of the film took place in 1987 — about 23 years earlier than Fargo Season 3 — but the chance of Frances McDormand showing up as an older, wiser, and even more badass Marge Gunderson is just too tempting not to entertain.

If the characters of Fargo Season 3 are as memorable as the characters from the series so far, as well as the original film, then there really isn't a need to return to those already established. Bringing back older characters would probably be nothing more than a quick piece of fan service for long-time watchers of the series – but sometimes fan service can be the cherry on top of a great season of television.