FX has ordered an 8-episode first season of original drama series Legion, it was announced today by Nick Grad and Eric Schrier, Presidents of Original Programming, FX Networks and FX Productions. Production will begin this summer in Vancouver for an early 2017 debut.
Legion introduces the story of David Haller (Dan Stevens, Downton Abbey). Since he was a teenager, David has struggled with mental illness. Diagnosed as schizophrenic, David has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years. But after a strange encounter with a fellow patient, he's confronted with the possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees might be real.
The drama also stars Rachel Keller, Aubrey Plaza, Katie Aselton, Jeremie Harris, Amber Midthunder, Bill Irwin and Jean Smart.
Noah Hawley (Fargo) wrote the pilot. He will serve as executive producer with Lauren Schuler Donner, Bryan Singer, Simon Kinberg, Jeph Loeb, Jim Chory and John Cameron. FX Productions and Marvel Television will produce.
"We've come to expect excellence from Noah Hawley and with Legion he has delivered another major creative achievement," said Grad. "Just as he did in reimagining Fargo, he is bringing an entirely new aesthetic and sensibility to the enormously popular and richly represented X-Men world. The pilot episode is stunning, driven by incredible performances from Dan Stevens, Aubrey Plaza, Jean Smart, Rachel Keller and the rest of the cast. We join our producing partners at Marvel in congratulating the creative team for what they've accomplished and are as excited as the fans for the premiere of Legion's first season."
"Marvel Television is thrilled to not only have our first partnership with FX go to series, but working with the enormously talented Noah Hawley makes it even better," said Loeb, Head of Marvel Television. "From the first time we heard Noah's vision to his exceptional script and cast through the extraordinary filming of the pilot, we knew the series would be incredible."
