Boss Noah Hawley on Terrifying New Monsters

[This story contains spoilers for the first two episodes of Alien: Earth.]

If you’re in space, and no one can hear you scream, that’s probably because a certain xenomorph with acid for blood has become a wee bit predictable — which is exactly why Alien: Earth creator Noah Hawley brought some new monstrous friends along for the party.

The new FX series from Fargo mastermind Hawley marks the historic Alien franchise’s first run at the small-screen, following a Sigourney Weaver-led quadrilogy and various spinoffs and relaunches. It’s a first in another way for the franchise, too, as it brings the classic H.R. Giger-designed creature into the same sphere as some brand new aliens, created specifically for this show.

In the first two episodes alone, which debuted on Tuesday, Aug. 12, Alien: Earth introduced a bevy of unique monstrosities including but not limited to a tentacled eyeball and a nest of extraterrestrial flies. The show has also expanded upon the various artificial lifeforms found throughout the movies, often as much the centerpiece as the aliens themselves. This time around, it’s not just androids in the mix, but also cyborgs (humans with robotic enhancements) and, more profoundly, a new breed of tech known as “synths,” artificial lifeforms housing human consciousnesses — children’s consciousnesses, to be precise.

An Alien television show featuring nothing more than the Coca Cola classic Alien could have sufficed us, so why all the extra bells and whistles? Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Hawley offers a simple explanation: he wanted the viewers to feel the same way he did when he watched Ridley Scott’s Alien for the very first time, and the only way to do that? New aliens.

“My job in reinventing these classic films is to figure out, what are the series of feelings that the original makes me feel? And then, how do I make you feel those same feelings?” says Hawley, referring not just to his work on Alien: Earth but also how he regularly channels the Coen Brothers with his Fargo TV adaptation. “The reality is I cannot make you feel the life cycle of this creature for the first time again because you know it so well, this evolution that it’s really four monsters and one. And it’s a parasite. Every step of the way is worse than the last.” 

Anyone who watched the first chestburster launch out of John Hurt knows what Hawley’s talking about, because as horrific as that concept is, it does get less surprising as the Alien films wear on. When an egg hatches, and its spider-like offering slips out and onto someone’s face, the rest of the scenario kind of writes itself. In the hands of the right author, those expectations can be weaponized against the audience — but, to Hawley’s point, not exactly reinvented.

“The only way to make you feel that terrible discovery is to add new creatures,” says Hawley. “You don’t know how they reproduce or what they eat. So you get this dread that comes every time they’re on screen where you’re like, ‘I know something’s going to happen. I don’t know what it’s going to be.’ And then when it happens, it’s worse than you could have imagined.”

In fairness, Alien: Earth isn’t the first time new monsters have entered the franchise, whether that’s the Alien vs. Predator movies (sorry folks, they do exist), or Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, which expanded on the “Space Jockey” concept from his initial Alien in dramatic and, for some, divisive fashion. David W. Zucker, who executive produces Alien: Earth and serves as chief creative officer for Scott Free Productions, says Hawley’s philosophy on why the show needed new blood (acid or otherwise) was precisely the thing that excited Scott the most — and terrified him, too.

“It both alarmed and relived Ridley at once,” says Zucker. “I think he was very pleased to know that Noah was going to extend his world beyond the creature that we’re so familiar with from the films. But the daunting challenge of being able to authentically and credibly, not only conceive of these creatures, but execute them at that sort of qualitative level is pretty staggering. And yet, I think Noah did it quite brilliantly.”

The first two episode of Alien: Earth are now streaming on Hulu, with new episodes releasing Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Hulu and FX, streaming next day on Disney+.