In the summer of 1979, a just-turned-12 Noah Hawley fancied the idea of seeing Ridley Scott’s new film Alien at his local movie theatre in New York. His parents took him to see Alan Arkin and Peter Falk’s unpredictable comedy The In-Laws instead.

The other purpose speaks more to the artistic side. “He’s got an aesthetic point of view on the world,” says Hart Hanson, who gave Hawley his first regular TV job, writing for the Fox crime drama Bones. “That’s the director part of him.”

Earth, a new sci-fi series that takes place two years before Ripley's fated journey on the Nostromo. It expands on the world established by iconic directors like Ridley Scott, James Cameron, and David Fincher.