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Uptown, Edgewater, Rogers Park

Rogers Park Becomes 1950s Kansas City In New Season Of ‘Fargo’

The FX series will film throughout the neighborhood until March, bringing with it classic cars and buses, plus retro stop signs and street lamps.

Filming for Fargo season four is taking place in Rogers Park.
Courtesy Michael Lehet
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ROGERS PARK — Rogers Park is providing the backdrop for the new season of the hit TV series “Fargo,” which will continue to film in the neighborhood through March.

Previous shoots for the fourth season of FX’s “Fargo” turned portions of Rogers Park into a mid-century Midwest neighborhood, complete with classic cars and buses, plus retro stop signs and street lamps.

Crews will return to the neighborhood for filming Friday and will remain until Saturday morning, the production company has told neighbors.

“Fargo” began filming its fourth season in Chicago this fall. The show’s fourth season is set in 1950s Kansas City, but producers said they chose Chicago for filming because it has preserved era-appropriate buildings. Previous shoots have turned Uptown’s entertainment district into a stand-in for retro Kansas City. Filming has also taken place in suburban Elgin and Blue Island.

While scouting houses and locations for the shoot, producers found a house in Rogers Park that will serve as the home of one of the show’s main characters, Ald. Maria Hadden (49th) said in a note to residents.

“What this means: the rest of the country gets to fall in love with our beautiful neighborhood,” Hadden wrote. “It also means, however, there will be additional parking restrictions as they wrap up season four filming.”

Credit: Courtesy Michael Lehet
A retro bus brought into Rogers Park for the filming of “Fargo” in mid-November.

On Friday, film crews will return to the area around Lunt and Wolcott, with parking restrictions going into effect at 6 a.m. Friday and lasting until 5 a.m. Saturday.

Lunt from Damen to Ravenswood will be fully closed from noon Friday to 1 a.m. Saturday, as will Wolcott from Greenleaf to Morse. For more information on street closures and parking bans, click here.

Film crews are expected to shoot in the neighborhood at least once a month through March, with filming sessions lasting no longer than two days, according to Hadden’s office.

Michael Lehet lives in the area where “Fargo” is being filmed, and said the production has created “chaos” when multiple streets are closed. Still, he said, “it’s been cool to see.”

Resident parking can be found at nearby institutions like the 16th Church of Christ Scientist, 7036 N. Ridge Blvd. (For more parking options, see the map below.)

Season four of “Fargo” will revolve around two warring street gangs and will star Chris Rock and Jason Schwartzman. (Check out photos of Chris Rock filming for the show in what appears to be Uptown here.) Chicago-area musician Andrew Bird will also appear in the show, according to media reports.

The new season is set to air on FX in 2020.

Fargo’s filming footprint in Rogers Park. [Courtesy 49th Ward Office]

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