“We Want Quality, Not Quantity” – Noah Hawley Talks Alien Series Length

As Noah Hawley continues the press rounds for the fifth season of Fargo, the press continues to ask him about the Alien series which is expected to resume filming later this month or in February. Talking to Collider, Hawley discussed how the story will encompass multiple seasons and not be a limited one-and-done narrative.

“I think that endings are what gives a story meaning, and so you should never start a story without some sense of where it’s going because then you can really build that meaning into it. With Legion, I had what felt like a three-act structure to it that I didn’t know if that would be three seasons or five seasons, or whatever it was, but I sort of knew what a beginning, middle, and end was.

And here, similarly, I knew that their desire was for a recurring series, not a limited series, and I had an idea that I was excited about, that I could see the escalation of it from one year to another. That’s where we ended up not pitching them having a bible or pitching them blow-by-blow, but saying, “Big picture: this is the first movement, this is the second movement, and we’re ultimately going here.”

Hawley also addressed that despite FX’s desire for an Alien series with multiple seasons, the studio has also been very trusting of Hawley and will let the series end when the story comes to a natural conclusion, emphasizing the desire for “quality, not quantity.”

“Obviously, they trust me after all these years, and the writing was on the page for the first year. So, in success, you tell the story and tell the story until the story is done. They’re very good at that at FX, of not wanting you to milk something that feels like it’s over. Legion, for me, I thought ended quite elegantly in that last season with a sort of perfect circle, literally back to the opening image. If they’d said we want one more season, now you’ve got a detour and you’ve gotta sort of add a thing that’s not organic to the full story. It’s just better if the story itself can drive how long it is. We want quality, not quantity.”

In addition to showrunning and writing for Fargo and Legion, Noah Hawley has also directed a number of episodes for both shows in addition to his own feature film “Lucy in the Sky.” When asked if Hawley would also be directing any episodes of the Alien series, Hawley told Collider that that decision was still up in the air following the recent SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.

“I think that’s a hard one just because we had the strike, so we’re figuring that out. But it’s thrilling to get behind the camera again, and to get behind the camera on this and to do something that’s much bigger and in the science fiction genre, playing with the elements that we all know from Alien. It’s really thrilling.”

Earlier this week Noah Hawley was also interviewed by KCRW’s ‘The Business,’ where he spoke about how the prequel films would – or more accurately wouldn’t – play into the depiction of the Aliens in the upcoming series.

“Ridley and I have talked about this — and many, many elements of the show,” Hawley says. “For me, and for a lot of people, this ‘perfect life form’ — as it was described in the first film — is the product of millions of years of evolution that created this creature that may have existed for a million years out there in space. The idea that, on some level, it was a bioweapon created half an hour ago, that’s just inherently less useful to me.”

Thanks to Nightmare Asylum for the news. Keep your browsers locked on Alien vs. Predator Galaxy for the latest Alien Series news! You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to get the latest on your social media walls. You can also join in with fellow Alien and Predator fans on our forums!