Noah Hawley

Early life, family and education

Hawley was born in New York City in 1967, the son of non-fiction writer and feminist activist Louise Armstrong (1937–2008) and businessman Tom Hawley. His maternal grandmother was a playwright. He has a twin brother, Alexi, who is also a television writer whose most prominent works include the series State of Affairs, The Rookie, and The Recruit.

In 1989, Hawley graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a degree in political science.

Career

Hawley worked as a paralegal and in computer programming at law firms. He worked for The Legal Aid Society in New York City, dealing with cases involving child abuse and neglect, a topic on which his mother had written ground-breaking books. He later moved to San Francisco, California.

Books

Hawley has published six novels: A Conspiracy of Tall Men (1998), Other People's Weddings (2004), The Punch (2008), The Good Father (2012), Before the Fall (2016), and Anthem (2022). He also published the non-fiction work Fargo: This Is a True Story (2019).

Television

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

Hawley is the creator, primary writer, and executive producer of the FX anthology series Fargo (2014present), based on the Coen brothers' 1996 film of the same name. In 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.

In December 2015, Hawley extended his production deal with FX. He wrote and served as executive producer for Legion (2017–2019), a series based on the Marvel comic book character.

Hawley is the creator of Alien: Earth, a TV series based on the film franchise, on which he is a writer, director, and producer. It premiered on FX on August 12, 2025.

Film

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

In September 2014, Hawley signed a deal with Universal Pictures to script an untitled project for their then-upcoming Dark Universe. Sony Pictures has acquired the rights to Hawley's novel, Before the Fall, with him writing the screenplay. In 2016, his 26 Keys production company signed a deal with 20th Century Fox to do films.

On July 20, 2017, Hawley announced at Comic Con that he was writing and directing a Doctor Doom movie with 20th Century Fox. However, the project was shelved following Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox.

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.

In November 2019, it was announced that Hawley would be writing and directing the fourth installment in the rebooted Star Trek franchise. He finished the script in September 2020. It would feature a new crew, although set in the same universe. In December 2025, Hawley said that he is still in contact with producer David Ellison on making his own Star Trek film.

Personal life

Hawley and his wife, Kyle, have two children together. They split their time between Los Angeles and Austin, Texas.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Primetime Emmy Awards

Producers Guild of America Awards

Writers Guild of America Awards

Published works

References

References

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2. Stanford, Peter. (March 28, 2012). "Noah Hawley: 'It's the parents who create killers'". The Telegraph.
3. Rose, Lacey. (April 15, 2014). "'Fargo' Creator Noah Hawley: How I Made It in Hollywood".
4. Bindel, Julie. (23 September 2008). "Louise Armstrong". [[The Guardian]].
5. "News and Announcements from Alums". Sarah Lawrence College.
6. Ganahl, Jane. (August 31, 1998). "Success stalks thriller writer". [[The San Francisco Examiner]].
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8. Elks, Jennifer. "The Rise and Rise of Noah Hawley". The Skinny.
9. "Development Update: Wednesday, January 20". [[The Futon Critic]].
10. Thorne, Will. (August 10, 2020). "'Fargo' Season 4 Premiere Date Set at FX".
11. Wagmeister, Elizabeth. (December 10, 2015). "FX Inks New Deal with 'Fargo' Creator Noah Hawley, Sets New Development Projects".
12. Rice, Lynette. (October 15, 2014). "'Fargo' creator developing 'Legion' series with Marvel and FX".
13. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (2020-12-10). "'Alien' Series In The Works At FX With 'Fargo' Creator Noah Hawley; Ridley Scott In Advance Talks To EP".
14. Zalben, Alex. (August 13, 2021). "Noah Hawley's 'Alien' TV Series Won't Premiere Until 2023, Earliest".
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16. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (September 18, 2014). "'Fargo's Noah Hawley To Adapt His Novel 'Before The Fall' In Sony Pic Deal".
17. McNary, Dave. (2016-04-25). "Noah Hawley Signs First-Look Deal With Fox".
18. Leadbeater, Alex. (July 20, 2017). "Doctor Doom Movie In Development From Legion's Noah Hawley". Screen Rant.
19. Riesman, Abraham. (June 4, 2018). "Noah Hawley's Doctor Doom Movie Is Written, But Don't Expect to See It Anytime Soon".
20. Patten, Dominic. (August 12, 2019). "'Legion's Noah Hawley Talks Tonight's Series Finale, 'Fargo', 'Doctor Doom' Movie & 'Cat's Cradle' Adaptation". Deadline Hollywood.
21. Kroll, Justin. (January 11, 2018). "Natalie Portman in Talks to Replace Reese Witherspoon in 'Pale Blue Dot' (EXCLUSIVE)".
22. Kroll, Justin. (2019-11-19). "Noah Hawley to Write and Direct Next 'Star Trek' Movie".
23. TrekMovieStaff. (2020-09-15). "Noah Hawley Confirms Star Trek Film Would Feature New Crew, Project in 'Statis'".
24. (December 1, 2025). "Noah Hawley".
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31. "76th Primetime Emmy Awards".
32. "66th Primetime Emmy Awards".
33. "68th Primetime Emmy Awards".
34. "69th Primetime Emmy Awards".
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40. McNary, Dave. (February 14, 2016). "WGA Honors 'Big Short,' 'Spotlight,' 'Mad Men' at 68th Awards".
41. (11 February 2018). "WGA Awards: The Complete Winners List".
42. Lewis, Hilary. (February 21, 2024). "WGA Awards: 'Air,' 'Barbie,' 'Oppenheimer,' 'May December' Among Film Screenplay Nominees".