Well-received big-budget Alien Earth TV series gets a second season

Alien Earth will return to FX (and Disney+ and Hulu) for a second season, thanks to a new deal between Disney and series creator Noah Hawley.

The new season has no air date yet, but we do know one thing about it: It will be shot in London. The first season was shot in Thailand, and most of the story took place in Southeast Asia, so the change in shooting location suggests a new setting for much of the next season. Production on season two will reportedly begin next year.

For those who watched season one to its conclusion, season two probably seemed like a sure thing; the finale resolved many of the core conflicts of that first batch of episodes, but also was clearly intended to be the launching point for a new storyline in season two.

That instinct is probably right—there was almost likely to be a season two, but the real question was whether Hawley would return as its creative lead. That was contingent on dealmaking between Hawley, FX, and Disney Entertainment Television. That deal has been made, reportedly to the tune of nine figures.

“I had to plan and execute a story that’s going someplace,” Hawley told The Hollywood Reporter regarding Alien Earth’s first season. “And then, this whole thing is a proof-of-concept experiment to see if enough people on the planet want to watch an Alien TV show to justify the expense of a second and third season of an Alien TV show. So for me, I never hedged my bets.”

Hawley was already involved in more than Alien Earth at FX. He started at the network in 2014 with the anthology series Fargo, based on the Coen brothers’ film of the same name. That series has repeatedly won critical acclaim and rewards over its five seasons so far. Hawley also created the Marvel series Legion—also on FX—before turning his attention to the Alien franchise.

The new deal surely means more than just another season of Alien Earth, as it expands Hawley’s involvement beyond just FX to other Disney networks like ABC and Hulu.