Season one of the Fargo television series aired in 2014 and ran for 10 episodes, each approximately 45-50 minutes in length. It's very loosely tied to the 1996 film of the same name. It stars Martin Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman, and Colin Hanks.

The story is about Lester, a mild-mannered pushover of an insurance salesman. After having a run-in with an old high school bully and getting his nose bashed in, he meets a mysterious stranger in the emergency room. Later, as his day progresses to get worse and Lester commits a foul deed, he calls the stranger up to help him clean up his mistake. Unfortunately, his life is about to get a whole lot more complicated.

This show is absolutely amazing. I'll admit, I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I first saw the commercials and saw the title of the series. I had seen the film, and while I thought it was good, it certainly wasn't the best or most memorable film I'd ever seen. This series is much better! It's such a perfect mix of dark humour and drama, and Billy Bob Thornton turns in one heck of a performance as Lorne Malvo, the villain of the series. He's utterly charismatic and at times downright chilling. You will both love him and come to fear him.

The second season is also available on DVD and is also something I have seen and own. It's also very good, though I will post a separate review for that later.