Joel and Ethan Coen to bring Oscar-winning film to the small screen, continuing the story of police chief Marge Gunderson

The Coen brothers are to bring their Oscar-winning film Fargo to the small screen, Deadline reports.

Joel and Ethan Coen will oversee the TV series, which will be in the one-hour episode format, as executive producers. Fargo, which was released in 1996, marked an early foray for the siblings into Academy award-winning territory: the Coens won best original screenplay and Frances McDormand was named best actress for her role as pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson. The film was also nominated in a further five categories.

The Fargo TV show is part of studio MGM's plan to adapt properties it owns for the small screen through MGM Television. A previous attempt to produce a Fargo show took place in 2003, with The Sopranos' Edie Falco starring as Gunderson. It never got beyond a Kathy Bates-directed pilot, and did not have the blessing of the Coens.

In the Coens' original crime caper the taciturn Gunderson is charged with investigating a homicide after a local car dealer with money problems (William H Macy) hires two hapless goons (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife as part of a ransom scam. The film is set mostly in Minnesota, which is populated largely by the descendants of Scandinavian and German settlers.

Gunderson is expected to once again be the main character in the TV series, which will be written and executive produced by Noah Hawley, creator of The Unusuals and My Generation.

• This article was amended on 25 September. We originally said that Fargo was largely set in North Dakota, when in fact it mostly takes place in Minnesota. This has been corrected.