My Fargo Season 6 Hopes Were Just Dealt A Major Blow By This New Update

Summary Noah Hawley's Alien show may push back Fargo season 6 due to his commitment to the new series.

Alien: Earth is set to air in the first half of 2025, potentially causing delays for Fargo.

With a possible blockbuster hit on its hands, Disney may prioritize its Alien series over Fargo.

I was really looking forward to Fargo season 6 after season 5’s refreshing return to form, but Noah Hawley’s commitment to FX’s Alien show means it’s probably a long way away. Hawley’s success turning the Coen brothers’ Oscar-winning crime comedy Fargo into an anthology series has made him one of the hottest showrunners in Hollywood. This has afforded Hawley a bunch of lucrative opportunities to work on non-Fargo projects, like the X-Men series Legion, but these other projects have always hurt Fargo, because they take Hawley’s time away from his beloved anthology series.

Ever since Disney acquired 21st Century Fox, it’s been trying to figure out a way to capitalize on the Alien franchise. The studio has been concurrently developing a new Alien movie directed by Fede Álvarez, Alien: Romulus, and a live-action Alien TV series with Hawley attached as creator, writer, and director. As the series nears its completion, FX has revealed its title, Alien: Earth, confirming that the series will finally take the Alien franchise to a dystopian, futuristic Earth. The series sounds great, but I’m worried it’ll cause massive delays for Fargo season 6.

Related Fargo Season 5 Ending Explained: What Happens To Dot & Roy The Fargo season 5 finale wraps up all the storylines, including the intense conflict between Dot Lyon and her abusive ex, Sheriff Roy Tillman.

Fargo Season 6 Sounds A Long Way Off Because Of Noah Hawley's Alien Show

Hawley's Alien series will likely keep him busy for a while

While there’s no officially confirmed release date for Alien: Earth, it’s projected to air sometime in the first half of 2025. Alien: Earth is comparable to Fargo in that they’re both TV adaptations of classic movies, but Fargo was never a blockbuster franchise, whereas Alien has been a lucrative I.P. since James Cameron introduced its potential for widespread worldbuilding in 1986’s Aliens. The fact that Disney is simultaneously developing an Alien movie for the big screen and an Alien series for the small screen shows just how much value the studio sees in this property.

If Alien: Earth ends up being the blockbuster hit that Disney is hoping it’ll be, then they’ll want to get started on a second season as soon as possible. This could mean that Fargo season 6 won’t just have to wait for Hawley to finish his work on Alien: Earth season 1; it might have to wait for Alien: Earth season 2 to be completed. Since it takes place in the distant future, in a world full of bloodthirsty extraterrestrials, Alien: Earth will undoubtedly be a much bigger and more time-consuming production than the homespun murder stories of Fargo.

Alien: Earth will take place three decades before the original Alien movie.

Fargo Season 6 Is More Exciting After Season 5

Fargo season 5 was a major return to form for the show

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When Fargo season 5 began airing in November 2023, I was sent press screeners by FX so that I could write about the show. I was initially hesitant to watch season 5. Seasons 1 and 2 are some of the strongest television I’ve ever seen, with great writing, great acting, and a successful recreation of the Coens’ quirky, twisted vision. But season 3 began to falter and season 4 was an outright disappointment with slow pacing and uninteresting storytelling. So, I wasn’t sure how season 5 would turn out.

But I was pleasantly surprised, because season 5 was a welcome return to form. It was a fun back-to-basics conceit to start off retelling the story of the original movie before spinning it off in wild new directions. Juno Temple made for a really compelling lead as Dot Lyon, a seemingly mild-mannered housewife who turned out to be a gun-toting badass, and Jon Hamm made for an unforgettable villain as the morally reprehensible but disarmingly charismatic Sheriff Roy Tillman. Season 5 reinvigorated my interest in Fargo, so it’s a shame the show will likely be on hiatus for a while.

Will Fargo Season 6 Happen (& When Could It)?

It could be at least three years before we see Fargo season 6

While FX hasn’t confirmed a release date for Fargo season 6, or even officially renewed the series for a sixth season, it’s possible to speculate on when it might happen. Although the first two seasons of Fargo were released a year apart like a traditional TV show, it’s since become the norm for new seasons of Fargo to take three years to become a reality. Season 4 aired three years after season 3; season 5 aired three years after season 4. So, we’ll likely have to wait at least three years before we see Fargo season 6.

But even that’s a lowball estimation. Hawley wasn’t working on Alien: Earth between seasons 3 and 4, and it was still in the early stages of development between seasons 4 and 5. Now that he’s all-hands-on-deck with Alien: Earth, Hawley might not get around to making Fargo season 6 for four or five years.