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Season 1 began airing in April 2014 starring Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman.

Photo by FX/Matthias Clamer

A critical and commercial success, Fargo was inspired by the Coen Brothers’ classic 1996 dark film comedy of the same name. It received 52 Emmy nominations and six wins during its first three seasons. Each season had a different plot and cast. Season 2 starred Ted Danson, Kirsten Dunst, Patrick Wilson, Jesse Plemons and Jean Smart. Season 3 starred Ewan McGregor, Carrie Coon, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and David Thewlis.

“I had heard they needed a certain look that we just couldn’t provide here in Alberta,” said Damian Petti, head of the film workers’ union IATSE 212. “But we had a tremendous run with the three seasons that we had. It was good for our local community. I think the work that Alberta did on the first three Fargos was beneficial to all. I think we proved ourselves.”

Production of Season 4, set in 1950, will begin in Chicago this fall. The ensemble cast will include Chris Rock, Jack Huston, Jason Schwartzman, Ben Whishaw and Andrew Bird. Rock will play the head of a criminal syndicate in Kansas City.

Makeup artist Gail Kennedy, who received three Emmy nominations for her work on Fargo, said she was “very sad not to be involved in the next instalment.”

“I love the show and the creative genius that is Noah Hawley,” she said. “It was fun, challenging, and creatively rewarding. I hope if there is a Season 5 that they come back home.”

While no one from the series has mentioned Alberta’s incentives as the reason for the move, industry insiders have long said that the province needs to improve them to attract bigger productions. Chad Oakes of Nomadic Pictures, which co-produced the first three seasons, provided a statement to Postmedia that suggested more work needs to be done to make Alberta “competitive once again” and said the loss of Season 4 will be felt by “the thousand-plus people who benefited from its creative and financial presence.”