Fargo season three review: Ewan McGregor's double act

The third season of the anthology crime drama Fargo, premiering on Channel 4 tonight, sees Ewan McGregor take on two roles in an enjoyable twist on the critically acclaimed formula.

Noah Hawley's Fargo franchise is based on the feature film of the same name by Joel and Ethan Coen, with each season focusing on a different story.

The third season, set in Minnesota in 2010, follows the rivalry between two brothers, both played by McGregor.

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Emmit Stussy is a slick parking lot mogul and Ray Stussy is a bitter parole officer engaged to one of his parolees Nikki Swango (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).

After unsuccessfully trying to rob Emmit, Ray and Nikki become involved in a double murder.

Critics have described McGregor's performance as extraordinary, but are asking if it's enough to keep the formula fresh.

"Welcome back to the world of Fargo," says Brian Tallerico on Vulture. It's a world of "funny accents, old-fashioned police work, and ordinary people behaving very badly".

The follow-up to Hawley's second season has taken 18 months. Was it worth the wait? "You betcha!" says Tallerico, who singles out McGregor for his "remarkable" performance.

Indeed, the "biggest new wrinkle" in the Fargo formula is the "acting feat by Ewan McGregor", says Scott Meslow in GQ. The critic says it's a seamless and impressive turn and McGregor is "clearly having a blast" as he plays up the physical contrasts between Emmit and Ray by giving the brothers totally different styles and affectations.

Meanwhile, there's familiarity in the various stylistic tics and tropes and archetypes of Fargo, says Meslow.

But "season three feels like it's occupying a whole patch of ground we've never seen before".

Hawley certainly knows his formula, says Ben Dowell in the Radio Times. But he does it stylishly with some "superlative visuals" and "amazing music".

Aside from the "the bold trick" of Trainspotting legend McGregor's double role, Dowell points out that by episode three the story takes "an altogether different tangent" by moving the investigation to LA. This, he says, gives the show "an injection of fresh energy and narrative drive".

While there's something comforting in the familiarity of Fargo, says Dowell, he nevertheless admits it "won't work if it's just more of the same". But Dowell concludes that the new series, so far at least, "avoids that trap".

Fargo series 3 starts on Channel 4 tonight at 10pm.