Noah Hawley

Noah Hawley (born c. 1967) is an American television writer, director, and producer, screenwriter, and bestselling author, known for creating and writing the FX television series Fargo (2014–present) and Legion (2017–2019). Hawley earlier worked on the television series Bones (2005–2008), The Unusuals (2009), and My Generation (2010). He is set to create a new television series based on the Alien film franchise.

Noah Hawley
Hawley in 2014
Born	1967 (age 53–54) New York City, U.S.[1]
Occupation	Screenwriter producer author
Alma mater	Sarah Lawrence College
Years active	2005–present
Spouse	Kyle Hawley
Children	2
Parents	Louise Armstrong (mother)

Early life

Hawley was born and raised in New York City, New York.[1][2] His mother, Louise Armstrong,[3] was a non-fiction writer and activist, and his maternal grandmother was a playwright. His father, Tom Hawley, was a businessman.[3] He has a twin brother, Alexi, who is a writer for the television show The Following and the creator of State of Affairs.[2][3]

Hawley graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a degree in political science in 1989.[4][5] He worked for the Legal Aid Society in New York City, dealing with cases involving child abuse and neglect.[5][6] He later moved to San Francisco. He worked in computer programming at law firms[5] and as a paralegal.[2]

Career

Books

He has published five novels: A Conspiracy of Tall Men (1998), Other People's Weddings (2004), The Punch (2008), The Good Father (2012), and Before the Fall (2016).[7]

Television

Hawley at the 2019 WonderCon, promoting Legion

Hawley was a writer and producer on the first three seasons of the television series Bones (2005–2008).[8] He was also creator and executive producer of The Unusuals (2009) and My Generation (2010).[9]

Hawley is the creator, primary writer, and executive producer of the FX anthology television series Fargo (2014), based on the Coen brothers' 1996 film of the same name. On August 25, 2014, Fargo won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries, along with 17 additional nominations at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards. In total, the series has been nominated for 113 awards since its premiere, winning 32 of them. The fourth season of Fargo premiered on September 27, 2020.[10]

In December 2015, Hawley extended his production deal with FX.[11] He wrote and served as executive producer for Legion, an FX television series based on the Marvel comic book character.[12] Hawley will also write and executive produce a limited series adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle for FX.[13] He will executive produce, but not write for, two additional adaptations for FX: Hellhound on His Trail, based on the book of the same name, and The Hot Rock, also based on a book.[11]

On December 10, 2020, it was announced that Hawley will be creating a television series based on the Alien franchise for FX, for which he will serve as the showrunner, primary writer, and executive producer. Ridley Scott, director of the original 1979 film Alien, is set to join him as an executive producer.

Film

Hawley wrote the original screenplay for the film The Alibi (2006).[14]

In September 2014, it was announced that Hawley had signed a deal with Universal Pictures to script an untitled project for their upcoming Dark Universe.[15] Sony Pictures has acquired the rights to Hawley's latest novel, Before the Fall, with him writing the screenplay.[15] In 2016, his 26 Keys production company signed a deal with 20th Century Fox to do films.[16] On July 20, 2017, Hawley announced at Comic Con that he is writing and directing a Doctor Doom movie with 20th Century Fox.[17] However, the project was shelved following Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox.[18][19]

In 2019, he made his feature film directorial debut with Lucy in the Sky, a drama film starring Natalie Portman as an astronaut, for Fox Searchlight.[20] He has also been set to direct Man Alive, from a sci-fi spec script by first-time screenwriter Joe Greenberg.[21]

In November 2019, it was announced that Hawley would be writing and directing the fourth installment in the rebooted Star Trek franchise.[22] He finished the script in September 2020. It would feature a new crew, although set in the same universe.[23] In late November 2020, it was revealed that the project was cancelled and Hawley had left.[24]

Personal life

Hawley resides in Austin, Texas and Los Angeles, California, with his wife, Kyle Hawley, and their two children.[2]

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Executive producer	Creator	Notes
2005–2008	Bones		Yes			6 episodes
2009	The Unusuals		Yes	Yes	Yes	3 episodes Also composer
2010	My Generation		Yes	Yes		Developer; 2 episodes
2014–present	Fargo	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
2017–2019	Legion	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
TBA	Alien	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Film

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes
2006	The Alibi		Yes
2019	Lucy in the Sky	Yes	Yes	Yes	Directorial debut

Published works

• Hawley, Noah (1998). A Conspiracy of Tall Men. Harmony. ISBN 978-0609602805.
• Hawley, Noah (2004). Other People's Weddings. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0312322731.
• Hawley, Noah (2008). The Punch: A Novel. Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-0811864299.
• Hawley, Noah (2012). The Good Father. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0385535533.
• Hawley, Noah (2016). Before the Fall. Grand Central. ISBN 978-1455561780.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2014	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Limited Series	Fargo	Won
		Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special		Nominated
	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Miniseries		Won
	Producers Guild of America Award	Best Long-Form Television		Won
	Golden Globe Award	Best Miniseries		Won
2015	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Limited Series		Nominated
		Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special		Nominated
		Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special		Nominated
	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Miniseries		Won
	Producers Guild of America Award	Best Long-Form Television		Won
	Golden Globe Award	Best Miniseries		Nominated
	Writers Guild of America Award	Long Form - Adapted		Won
2017	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Limited Series		Nominated
		Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special		Nominated
		Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special		Nominated
	Writers Guild of America Award	Long Form - Adapted		Nominated

References

1. Stanford, Peter (March 28, 2012). "Noah Hawley: 'It's the parents who create killers'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
2. "'Fargo' Creator Noah Hawley: How I Made It in Hollywood". The Hollywood Reporter. April 15, 2014. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
3. "Louise Armstrong". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
4. "News and Announcements from Alums" Archived January 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Sarah Lawrence College website, accessed May 30, 2013.
5. Ganahl, Jane (August 31, 1998). "Success stalks thriller writer". The San Francisco Examiner. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014 – via SFgate.com.
6. "News and Announcements from Alums". Sarah Lawrence College. Archived from the original on January 17, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
7. "Noah Hawley". Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
8. Elks, Jennifer, The Skinny, accessed June 21, 2011.
9. "Development Update:Wednesday, January 20", The Futon Critic, accessed June 21, 2011.
10. Thorne, Will (August 10, 2020). "'Fargo' Season 4 Premiere Date Set at FX". Variety. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
11. Wagmeister, Elizabeth (December 10, 2015). "FX Inks New Deal with 'Fargo' Creator Noah Hawley, Sets New Development Projects". Variety. Archived from the original on June 28, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
12. "'Fargo' creator developing 'Legion' series with Marvel and FX". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
13. Andreeva, Nellie (November 18, 2015). "'Cat's Cradle' Limited Series Adaptation In Works At FX With Noah Hawley & IM Global". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
14. Elks, Jennifer "Lies and Alibis" Archived March 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Coming Soon, accessed June 21, 2011.
15. Jr, Mike Fleming (September 18, 2014). "'Fargo's Noah Hawley To Adapt His Novel 'Before The Fall' In Sony Pic Deal". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
16. McNary, Dave (April 25, 2016). "Noah Hawley Signs First-Look Deal With Fox". Variety. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
17. Leadbeater, Alex (July 20, 2017). "Doctor Doom Movie In Development From Legion's Noah Hawley". Screen Rant. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
18. Riesman, Abraham (June 4, 2018). "Noah Hawley's Doctor Doom Movie Is Written, But Don't Expect to See It Anytime Soon". Vulture. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
19. "'Legion's Noah Hawley Talks Tonight's Series Finale, 'Fargo', 'Doctor Doom' Movie & 'Cat's Cradle' Adaptation". Deadline. August 13, 2019.
20. Kroll, Justin (January 11, 2018). "Natalie Portman in Talks to Replace Reese Witherspoon in 'Pale Blue Dot' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on January 25, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
21. Hipes, Patrick (April 22, 2016). "Fox Acquires Newbie's Sci-Fi Spec 'Man Alive' For 'Fargo's Noah Hawley To Direct". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
22. Kroll, Justin (November 19, 2019). "Noah Hawley to Write and Direct Next 'Star Trek' Movie". Variety. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
23. TrekMovieStaff (September 15, 2020). "Noah Hawley Confirms Star Trek Film Would Feature New Crew, Project in "Statis"". TrekMovie. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
24. Fuge, Jon (December 1, 2020). "Star Trek Is Not In Director Noah Hawley's Immediate Future". MovieWeb. Retrieved December 2, 2020.

External links

• Noah Hawley at IMDb