FAQ for
"Fargo" (2014) More at IMDbPro »

Contrary to the claim that appears at the beginning of each episode and similar to the movie Fargo (1996), the story is completely fictional.

Fargo is the largest city of North Dakota in the United States. It's only shown in the series in the seventh episode.

In the movie Fargo, Carl Showalter buries the case of money in some snow by a barbwire fence. In the Fargo TV series, it is shown in a flashback that Stavros Milos discovers the case of money.

Both the series and the movie take place in the state of Minnesota. The characters and themes are similar, in which the small town Midwest culture to keeping things calm and status quo, and wrapping things up nicely clashes when some other city forces arrive. Also, similar to the coen brothers writing (and somewhat like tarantino writing), many of the character have a strong sense of morals and principles which leads to conflicts over small details. There are also intricate storytelling, monologues and parables similar to these directors' movie style

The series was filmed in Calgary, Alberta in Canada.

The rain of fish in episode six is a probably due to a water spout picking up fish from Lake Superior, which freezes 1 in 20 years according to Wikipedia.

Read more here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raining_animals

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Superior

Writer perspective: In the beginning of episode seven, Chaz, Kitty and Gordo are in the kitchen when the reporter in the TV News refers to a possible tornado causing the incident.

Successfully managing to escape prosecution for the murder of his wife gave Lester a new outlook on life after years of being emasculated by everyone he knew. After shifting the blame to his more successful and passive aggressive brother, Lester's life changed dramatically: marrying a trophy wife, moving to a large and expensive house and starting his own insurance agency. Lester was convinced that he was invincible after an entire life of failure, so when he spotted Malvo for the first time in a year, Lester no longer feared him and somewhat thought that Malvo was the catalyst for his turnaround. Lester either wanted to thank Malvo or confront him (believing that he was finally strong enough), but unfortunately he chose to do so at a time that compromised an important job that Malvo had been working on for six months.

Somewhat, Season One took place in 2006 in Bemidji, Minnesota, which is in the northern part of the state. Season Two is in 1979 in Luverne, Minnesota, which is in the Southwest corner of the State. One recurring character is Lou Solverson, portrayed by Keith Carradine for Season One who is a retired cop turned diner manager. Season Two has Patrick Wilson playing a younger Lou Solverson who is part of the state highway patrol.