Legion (TV Series)
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''Legion'' is an American
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
television series created by
Noah Hawley Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
for FX, based on the
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
character
David Haller / Legion David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
. Set in an alternate timeline of the ''X-Men'' film series, it was produced by
FX Productions FX Productions (FXP) is an American television and in-house production company owned by FX Networks (and jointed with Disney Television Studios), a division of the Walt Disney Television unit of The Walt Disney Company. The studio currently produc ...
in association with
Marvel Television Marvel Television was an American television production company responsible for live-action and animated (through Marvel Animation) television shows and direct-to-DVD series based on characters from Marvel Comics. The division was based at affi ...
, and ran for three seasons from 2017 to 2019, with Hawley serving as
showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...
.
Dan Stevens Daniel Jonathan Stevens (born 10 October 1982) is a British actor and writer. He first drew international attention for his role as Matthew Crawley in the ITV acclaimed period drama series ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2012). He also starred as D ...
starred as David Haller, a "
mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...
" diagnosed with
schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...
at a young age.
Rachel Keller Rachel Keller is a fictional Character (arts), character in The Ring (film series), ''The Ring'' film series. The character, created by writer-producer Ehren Kruger and portrayed by Naomi Watts, serves as the protagonist of ''The Ring (2002 film) ...
,
Aubrey Plaza Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She began her career performing improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. She starred as April Ludgate on the NBC sitcom '' Par ...
,
Bill Irwin William Mills Irwin (born April 11, 1950) is an American actor, clown, and comedian. He began as a vaudeville-style stage performer and has been noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. He has made a n ...
,
Jeremie Harris Jeremie Harris is an American actor. He is primarily known for his portrayal of Ptonomy Wallace in FX (TV channel), FX's ''Legion (TV series), Legion''. Biography Jeremie Harris grew up in New Rochelle where he had ambitions to become a basketbal ...
,
Amber Midthunder Amber Midthunder (born April 26, 1997) is a Native American ( Fort Peck Assiniboine) actress. She is known for her regular roles in the FX series ''Legion'' and The CW series '' Roswell, New Mexico'', as well as appearances on '' Longmire'', '' ...
, and
Jean Smart Jean Elizabeth Smart (born September 13, 1951) is an American actress. After beginning her career in regional theater in the Pacific Northwest, she appeared on Broadway in 1981 as Marlene Dietrich in the biographical play '' Piaf''. Smart was ...
also starred, along with
Katie Aselton Kathryn Aselton (born October 1, 1978) is an American actress, film director and producer. She directed and co-starred in ''The Freebie (film), The Freebie'', which was shown in the non-competition "Next" category at the Sundance Film Festival i ...
during the first season;
Navid Negahban Navid Negahban ( fa, نوید نگهبان; born June 2, 1968) is an Iranian-American actor. He has appeared on '' 24'', ''Homeland'', '' Mistresses'' and as Amahl Farouk / Shadow King in the second and third seasons of FX's ''Legion''. He has al ...
,
Jemaine Clement Jemaine Atea Mahana Clement (born 10 January 1974) is a New Zealand actor, comedian, musician and filmmaker. He has released several albums with Bret McKenzie as the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, and created a comedy series of the ...
, and
Hamish Linklater Hamish Linklater (born July 7, 1976) is an American actor and playwright. He is known for playing Matthew Kimble in '' The New Adventures of Old Christine'', Andrew Keanelly in ''The Crazy Ones'', and Clark Debussy in ''Legion''. He is the son of ...
joined the cast for the second season;
Lauren Tsai Lauren Tsai (born February 11, 1998), is an American visual artist, model, and actress. She is best known to audiences for her appearance in the Fuji TV and Netflix series '' Terrace House: Aloha State''. She made her acting debut in the third an ...
joined for the third season. The series follows Haller as he tries to control his mutant powers and the sinister forces trying to control them while evading a government agency. FX and Marvel Television announced a new collaboration to create a television series based on the Marvel Comics character Legion in October 2015, with Hawley signed on to write and direct the pilot. He wanted to show Haller as an "
unreliable narrator An unreliable narrator is a narrator whose credibility is compromised. They can be found in fiction and film, and range from children to mature characters. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in ''The Rhetoric of Fiction''. While unrel ...
", including mixing 1960s design with modern-day elements, and filming the series through the title character's distorted view of reality. The eight-episode first season of ''Legion'' aired from February to March 2017. An eleven-episode second season aired from April to June 2018. The eight-episode third and final season premiered on June 24, 2019. A total of 27 episodes aired over three seasons. All three seasons received critical acclaim for their distinct narrative structure and visual style, as a unique approach to the superhero genre.


Premise

David Haller Legion (David Charles Haller) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the mutant son of Charles Xavier and Gabrielle Haller. Legion takes the role of an antihero who has a severe mental illne ...
was diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age and has been a patient in various psychiatric hospitals since the diagnosis. He was committed to the latest facility by his adoptive sister, Amy Haller. After Haller has an encounter with a fellow psychiatric patient, he is confronted with the possibility that there may be more to him than mental illness where an incident led to the death of his friend Lenore "Lenny" Busker. Hunted by the government agency Division 3 in the first season, Haller is saved by a group of
mutants In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...
at a facility called Summerland, who explain that he is also a mutant. Haller eventually discovers that his mind is infected by the parasitic mutant
Amahl Farouk / Shadow King ''Amahl and the Night Visitors'' is an opera in one act by Gian Carlo Menotti with an original English libretto by the composer.Menotti, Gian-Carlo: ''Amahl and the Night Visitors (piano-vocal score)'', G. Schirmer, Inc., 1997. It was commission ...
and is able to force the villain from his mind. In the second season, Haller returns after a year spent trapped in a mysterious orb. In his absence, his Summerland allies have joined forces with Division 3 to stop Farouk's plan to find his real body and amass world-ending power. Farouk even uses Oliver Bird and a device stolen from Division 3 to enable Lenny to be reborn in Amy's body. Due to Shadow King's evidence, David flees from Division 3 with Lenny where they set up a place for his cult as David gets a time-traveling mutant named Switch on his side. He plans to improve Switch's powers in order to protect the world. David kidnaps Cary Loudermilk to help him amplify Switch's powers. David then uses Switch to go back to when he was a child and witnesses various parts of his parents' past including his father
Charles Xavier Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co- ...
going to war and meeting his mother
Gabrielle Haller This article lists Marvel characters beginning with the letter "H", with a brief description introducing each one. Hala the Accuser Gabrielle Haller Gabrielle Haller was a Catatonia, catatonic The Holocaust, Holocaust survivor who awoke from ...
at a mental facility, his father locating and meeting Farouk, and how Farouk got into him in the first place, though this does bring both sides into conflict with the Time Eaters.


Cast and characters

*
Dan Stevens Daniel Jonathan Stevens (born 10 October 1982) is a British actor and writer. He first drew international attention for his role as Matthew Crawley in the ITV acclaimed period drama series ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2012). He also starred as D ...
as
David Haller / Legion David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
:
The
mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...
son of
Charles Xavier Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co- ...
, David was diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age and meets the "girl of his dreams" in a psychiatric hospital. The character possesses various
psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...
abilities, including
telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W ...
and
telekinesis Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...
. Stevens joined the series because of showrunner Noah Hawley's involvement, and did extensive research on mental health to prepare for the role, talking to both mentally ill persons and doctors. Hawley and the cast kept secrets from Stevens about the character and plot so that he could identify with David's confusion about himself and reality. *
Rachel Keller Rachel Keller is a fictional Character (arts), character in The Ring (film series), ''The Ring'' film series. The character, created by writer-producer Ehren Kruger and portrayed by Naomi Watts, serves as the protagonist of ''The Ring (2002 film) ...
as Sydney "Syd" Barrett:
A young mutant woman who becomes David's girlfriend. Syd's mind trades places with that of anyone she touches, with hers entering their body, and vice versa. Because of her abilities, the character is portrayed as "withdrawn", the opposite of Keller's breakout performance in the second season of Hawley's '' Fargo''. She is named after Roger "Syd" Barrett of the rock band
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
, whose music was an important influence on showrunner Noah Hawley. *
Aubrey Plaza Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She began her career performing improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. She starred as April Ludgate on the NBC sitcom '' Par ...
as Lenore "Lenny" Busker and
Amahl Farouk / Shadow King ''Amahl and the Night Visitors'' is an opera in one act by Gian Carlo Menotti with an original English libretto by the composer.Menotti, Gian-Carlo: ''Amahl and the Night Visitors (piano-vocal score)'', G. Schirmer, Inc., 1997. It was commission ...
(season 1; special guest season 2):
David's friend, an "impossible optimist" despite a history of drug and alcohol abuse. The character dies in the first episode, but returns as the main form and persona, out of several, adopted by the powerful mutant Amahl Farouk within David's mind. Farouk later gives Busker a new body to use, created by infusing Amy Haller's body with Busker's DNA. Busker was originally written for a middle-aged man, until Hawley met Plaza and rethought the character. However, Plaza insisted that the character's dialogue not be changed for her, instead choosing to play the character as both male and female, preceding their reveal as the Shadow King. This led to Busker "making crass remarks about women and muttering vintage phrases". *
Bill Irwin William Mills Irwin (born April 11, 1950) is an American actor, clown, and comedian. He began as a vaudeville-style stage performer and has been noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. He has made a n ...
as Cary Loudermilk:
A mutant
scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...
, one of the founders of Summerland and one of Bird's specialists. The character is introduced in the second episode, but Hawley sought to cast Irwin, for his "playful approach to characters", during filming on the pilot, before the character's role had been written. Hawley "had to pitch him the weird, crazy character dynamic and that the show is about memory and identity", and Irwin agreed to join the project. *
Jeremie Harris Jeremie Harris is an American actor. He is primarily known for his portrayal of Ptonomy Wallace in FX (TV channel), FX's ''Legion (TV series), Legion''. Biography Jeremie Harris grew up in New Rochelle where he had ambitions to become a basketbal ...
as Ptonomy Wallace:
A former
child prodigy A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...
and a mutant, one of Bird's specialists. A "memory artist", Ptonomy "remembers everything, and has the ability to take people back into their own memories". *
Amber Midthunder Amber Midthunder (born April 26, 1997) is a Native American ( Fort Peck Assiniboine) actress. She is known for her regular roles in the FX series ''Legion'' and The CW series '' Roswell, New Mexico'', as well as appearances on '' Longmire'', '' ...
as Kerry Loudermilk:
A mutant who lives inside Cary's body; their mutant power allows them to coexist in one body or to become separate physical persons. Kerry only ages when she is outside Cary, leaving her physically much younger than he is. *
Katie Aselton Kathryn Aselton (born October 1, 1978) is an American actress, film director and producer. She directed and co-starred in ''The Freebie (film), The Freebie'', which was shown in the non-competition "Next" category at the Sundance Film Festival i ...
as Amy Haller (season 1; recurring season 2):
David's adoptive older sister, who tries to remain positive despite his history of mental illness. Hawley said that she defined herself as normal "against her brother. She finds herself being looked at as if she might be crazy, as well." *
Jean Smart Jean Elizabeth Smart (born September 13, 1951) is an American actress. After beginning her career in regional theater in the Pacific Northwest, she appeared on Broadway in 1981 as Marlene Dietrich in the biographical play '' Piaf''. Smart was ...
as Melanie Bird (seasons 1–2; special guest season 3):
A demanding psychiatric therapist. Smart joined the series immediately when asked by Hawley, despite knowing nothing about the show and its source material, due to her previous
Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-nominated work with him on the second season of ''Fargo''. *
Navid Negahban Navid Negahban ( fa, نوید نگهبان; born June 2, 1968) is an Iranian-American actor. He has appeared on '' 24'', ''Homeland'', '' Mistresses'' and as Amahl Farouk / Shadow King in the second and third seasons of FX's ''Legion''. He has al ...
as
Amahl Farouk / Shadow King ''Amahl and the Night Visitors'' is an opera in one act by Gian Carlo Menotti with an original English libretto by the composer.Menotti, Gian-Carlo: ''Amahl and the Night Visitors (piano-vocal score)'', G. Schirmer, Inc., 1997. It was commission ...
(seasons 2–3): A malevolent presence in David's mind who takes on several different forms. The character was portrayed in a main capacity in the first season by Plaza, while Quinton Boisclair,
Devyn Dalton Devyn Dalton is a Canadian actress, stuntwoman, dancer and voice over artist. Career Devyn has starred in Nickelodeon's ''A Fairly Odd Christmas'' as Christmas Carol and '' Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library'' as Gretel. In '' War for the Plane ...
,
Kirby Morrow Kirby Robert Morrow (1973 – November 18, 2020) was a Canadian actor, comedian and writer. In animation, he was known as the voice of Miroku from ''InuYasha'', its four movies, and '' Inuyasha: The Final Act'', Van Fanel from the Ocean dub o ...
and Jemaine Clement have played his alternate forms. *
Jemaine Clement Jemaine Atea Mahana Clement (born 10 January 1974) is a New Zealand actor, comedian, musician and filmmaker. He has released several albums with Bret McKenzie as the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, and created a comedy series of the ...
as Oliver Bird (season 2; recurring season 1; special guest season 3): Melanie's mutant husband. He has spent the last 20 years on the astral plane. *
Hamish Linklater Hamish Linklater (born July 7, 1976) is an American actor and playwright. He is known for playing Matthew Kimble in '' The New Adventures of Old Christine'', Andrew Keanelly in ''The Crazy Ones'', and Clark Debussy in ''Legion''. He is the son of ...
as Clark Debussy (seasons 2–3; recurring season 1): An "Interrogator" for Division 3. *
Lauren Tsai Lauren Tsai (born February 11, 1998), is an American visual artist, model, and actress. She is best known to audiences for her appearance in the Fuji TV and Netflix series '' Terrace House: Aloha State''. She made her acting debut in the third an ...
as Jia-Yi / Switch (season 3): A young mutant with time-traveling abilities.


Episodes


Season 1 (2017)


Season 2 (2018)


Season 3 (2019)


Production


Development

After completing work on the first season of '' Fargo'' at FX in 2014,
Noah Hawley Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
was presented with the opportunity to develop the first live-action television series based on the
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
comics, of which he was a fan when growing up. Hawley was initially pitched two different ideas for the potential series, including an adaptation of the comics'
Hellfire Club Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high-society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century. The name most commonly refers to Francis Dashwood's Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe. Such clubs, ...
, but the ideas did not interest Hawley. Instead, he worked with ''X-Men'' film series writer and producer
Simon Kinberg Simon David Kinberg (born August 2, 1973) is a British-born American filmmaker. He is best known for his work on the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film franchise, and has also written such films as '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' and '' Sherlock Holmes''. He ...
to reverse-engineer an idea for the series. After discussing an "interesting show in this genre ... that isn't being done", the two settled on the character of
David Haller / Legion David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
. Hawley found the character interesting because of his mental illness, and for the potential of the series to depict his unique mindset. He pitched the series as "a deconstruction of a villain ... and a love story". In October 2015, FX ordered a
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
for ''Legion'', with
Marvel Television Marvel Television was an American television production company responsible for live-action and animated (through Marvel Animation) television shows and direct-to-DVD series based on characters from Marvel Comics. The division was based at affi ...
and
FX Productions FX Productions (FXP) is an American television and in-house production company owned by FX Networks (and jointed with Disney Television Studios), a division of the Walt Disney Television unit of The Walt Disney Company. The studio currently produc ...
producing; FX Productions would handle the physical production. Hawley was set to write the pilot, and executive produce the series alongside ''X-Men'' film producers
Lauren Shuler Donner Lauren Diane Shuler Donner (born June 23, 1949) is an American film producer, who specializes in mainstream youth and family-oriented entertainment. She owned The Donners' Company with her late husband, director Richard Donner. Her films have g ...
,
Bryan Singer Bryan Jay Singer (born September 17, 1965) is an American filmmaker. He is the founder of Bad Hat Harry Productions and has produced almost all of the films he has directed. After graduating from the University of Southern California, Singer d ...
, and Kinberg, Marvel Television executives
Jeph Loeb Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III () is an American film and television writer, producer and comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series '' Smallville'' and ''Lost'', writer for the films ''Commando'' and ''Teen Wolf'', and a writer and ...
and Jim Chory, and Hawley's ''Fargo'' collaborator John Cameron. Steve Blackman, Alan Fine,
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
,
Joe Quesada Joseph Quesada (; born January 12, 1962'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books ...
, and Karim Zreik also executive produce. Hawley's initial script for the series was described as "less fractured", "cohesive ndmuch more regular." However, he quickly reconceived the series "and decided more ''
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (also simply known as ''Eternal Sunshine'') is a 2004 American romantic science fiction drama film written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Michel Gondry, and starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. P ...
'',
Terrence Malick Terrence Frederick Malick (born November 30, 1943) is an American filmmaker. His films include '' Days of Heaven'' (1978), '' The Thin Red Line'' (1998), for which he received Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenp ...
, more whimsy, more impressionistic and went in that direction." By January 2016, FX President
John Landgraf John Phillip Landgraf (born May 20, 1962) is the Chairman of FX Networks. He is also a member of the Peabody Awards board of directors, which is presented by the University of Georgia's Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. ...
was confident that the series would be picked up by the network, saying that "the vast majority of things that we pilot do go forward to series" and "the scripts or ''Legion''are extraordinary." That May, FX ordered an eight-episode first season of ''Legion''. In June, Landgraf said that the series, if successful, could run for as many seasons as Hawley feels it needs to tell the story. Discussing future seasons, Hawley said in January 2017 that he was open to continuing the story past the first season, but didn't want the audience to get to the end of the first run and have "no resolution of any kind at the end of it." Star
Dan Stevens Daniel Jonathan Stevens (born 10 October 1982) is a British actor and writer. He first drew international attention for his role as Matthew Crawley in the ITV acclaimed period drama series ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2012). He also starred as D ...
said, "I know for a fact that there are more issues that David has to deal with than the one that we really address in the first season." Also at that time, Singer explained the executive producers' roles in the series, saying that he, Donner, and Kinberg brought their experience from making the ''X-Men'' films, but their involvement generally consisted of giving small notes on scripts and early cuts of episodes. In March, FX ordered a second season of the series. With the end of the first season, Hawley said that the second season would consist of ten episodes, and explained that he was unsure at that time how long he would like the series to run: "I think there were things about the first season that feltwould unfold faster than they did, and things that I thought would take longer that I dealt with more quickly. I think by the end of the second year I'll have a better sense of how many more years there are to go". Singer was removed as an executive producer on the series in January 2018, and his name was removed from the credits of the series' episodes beginning with the second season, due to sexual abuse allegations against him being made. Hawley said that it had been Singer who had asked for his name to be removed, and that Singer had only had limited involvement with the series anyway; he had initially expressed interest in directing the pilot of the series, but had not been directly involved since Hawley took over. That month, Hawley stated that he was planning for a third season of the series, and soon elaborated that the second season would clearly lead in to the third, and that "it's not a show where each year there's a new villain and the end of the table. It's a three or four or five act story where each season is another chapter in that story." In March, he discussed the
proposed acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney The acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney was announced on December 14, 2017, and was completed on March 20, 2019. Among other key assets, the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company included the 20th Century Fox film and ...
, saying that he was unsure how it would affect the series and that he had not discussed the issue with either studio, but that he believed "as long as the show is making noise and is watched by people, I won't be worried that they're going to cancel ''Legion'' because it doesn't fit in with their larger brand." In June 2018, FX renewed ''Legion'' for a third season. In February 2019, Hawley said that the third season would premiere in June 2019, and would be the final season of the series, which he said had always been his intent. On May 2, 2019, FX said the final season would premiere on June 24, 2019.


Writing

Kinberg teased in November 2015 that the series would tell "X-Men stories in a slightly different way and even with a slightly different tone" from the films, noting the differences in tone between the "operatic" ''X-Men'' films and the "irreverent and hysterical" ''
Deadpool Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...
'', and feeling that ''Legion'' gives "us an opportunity to go even further ... in some ways to sort of blow up the paradigm of comic book or superhero stories and almost do our ''
Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
'' of superhero stories." Loeb noted that "the core" of all ''X-Men'' comic books has always been that "the X-Men were different ... We live in a world right now where diversity and uniqueness and whether or not we fit in is something that's on our minds twenty-four hours a day. The X-Men have never been more relevant than they are right now." Hawley added, "The great thing about exploring this character is before he has an opinion about anyone else, he has to figure out his own shit. That's what we all have to do. This journey isn't necessarily racing toward a battle with an entity, so much as embracing the battle within." In May 2016, Hawley described his take on the series as being inspired by the works of
David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
, and said that "the structure of a story should reflect the content of the story. If the story, as in this case, is about a guy who is either schizophrenic or he has these abilities, i.e., he doesn't know what's real and what's not real, then the audience should have the same experience ... my goal with this is to do something whimsical and imaginative and unexpected. Not just because I want to do something different, but because it feels like the right way to tell this story." Elaborating on structuring the series to reflect Haller's point of view, Hawley said, "I love the idea that even when you're in it on the journey, there is this ''
Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
'' quality to it, of a
story within a story A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes c ...
." Discussing the increasing popularity of unreliable narrators in television, Hawley said that he wanted to avoid making the audience think that the series is a puzzle that needs to be solved by solving the mysteries for them upfront—"We're going to take a character out of confusion into clarity and an audience out of mystery into clarity." Hawley deliberately chose not to directly adapt any storylines from the comics, feeling that "you're bound to offend somebody, no matter what you do" in that situation. Instead, he wanted to take the character of Legion and basic set-up around him, and "play" with that, which he described in relation to ''Fargo''—"my job was not to remake
the movie "The Movie" is the 54th episode of the sitcom '' Seinfeld''. It is the 14th episode of the fourth season, and first aired on January 6, 1993 on NBC. The episode revolves entirely around the characters' struggles to go to see a movie together. P ...
, to sort of retell a story that had already been told, but to try to tell a different story with the same effect, the same impact." Concerning the mental illness aspects of the character, Hawley said, "It's a tragic condition that people have, and so I don't want to use it for entertainment purposes ... if we can ground that
spect Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT, or less commonly, SPET) is a nuclear medicine tomographic imaging technique using gamma rays. It is very similar to conventional nuclear medicine planar imaging using a gamma camera (that is, ...
for the audience, then the idea that he's fallen in love and that he's not ill, there's a hope to that that the audience is gonna grab onto." In January 2017, Hawley explained that he was willing to use different tropes from the superhero genre in the series, such as superhero costumes with capes, if necessary, but did want to avoid "sending a message that all conflict can only be resolved through battle. There is a sense in a lot of these stories that everything always builds to a big fight ... I wanted to find a story that was just as exciting and interesting but doesn't send the message that in the end that 'might makes right'." At the end of the first season, Hawley said, "I like this idea of having to face our demons", with the first season seeing Haller go through an internal struggle with the malevolent
Shadow King The Shadow King (Amahl Farouk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is particularly associated with the X-Men family of comics. His nemesis is the X-Men's leader, Professor X, while he also ...
occupying his mind, and then the second season seeing that character possess someone else "making it an exterior agent. And there's going to be something very complicated about going to war with himself. It's been with him since he was a baby, it's like a
phantom limb A phantom limb is the sensation that an amputated or missing limb is still attached. Approximately 80 to 100% of individuals with an amputation experience sensations in their amputated limb. However, only a small percentage will experience painf ...
now, it's part of him." Hawley said he preferred this idea of a villain "worthy of creating a whole story around", rather than a villain-of-the year. He was unsure at the time how long that storyline would continue throughout the show, but said "it's a fascinating setup to follow."


Casting

In January 2016,
Rachel Keller Rachel Keller is a fictional Character (arts), character in The Ring (film series), ''The Ring'' film series. The character, created by writer-producer Ehren Kruger and portrayed by Naomi Watts, serves as the protagonist of ''The Ring (2002 film) ...
was cast as the female lead of the series, after her breakout role in ''Fargo''. In early February, Stevens,
Aubrey Plaza Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She began her career performing improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. She starred as April Ludgate on the NBC sitcom '' Par ...
, and
Jean Smart Jean Elizabeth Smart (born September 13, 1951) is an American actress. After beginning her career in regional theater in the Pacific Northwest, she appeared on Broadway in 1981 as Marlene Dietrich in the biographical play '' Piaf''. Smart was ...
were cast as Haller, his friend Lenny Busker, and therapist Melanie Bird, respectively. Keller's role was revealed to be Syd Barrett. Later that month,
Jeremie Harris Jeremie Harris is an American actor. He is primarily known for his portrayal of Ptonomy Wallace in FX (TV channel), FX's ''Legion (TV series), Legion''. Biography Jeremie Harris grew up in New Rochelle where he had ambitions to become a basketbal ...
was cast in the regular role of Ptonomy Wallace, and
Amber Midthunder Amber Midthunder (born April 26, 1997) is a Native American ( Fort Peck Assiniboine) actress. She is known for her regular roles in the FX series ''Legion'' and The CW series '' Roswell, New Mexico'', as well as appearances on '' Longmire'', '' ...
was cast as the
savant Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calcu ...
Kerry Loudermilk. In March,
Katie Aselton Kathryn Aselton (born October 1, 1978) is an American actress, film director and producer. She directed and co-starred in ''The Freebie (film), The Freebie'', which was shown in the non-competition "Next" category at the Sundance Film Festival i ...
was cast as Haller's older sister Amy. With the full series order in May 2016,
Bill Irwin William Mills Irwin (born April 11, 1950) is an American actor, clown, and comedian. He began as a vaudeville-style stage performer and has been noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. He has made a n ...
was added to the cast, in the role of Cary Loudermilk. Stevens, Keller, Plaza, Irwin, Harris, Midthunder, and Smart returned for the second season, with Aselton making a guest appearance in the season before Amy's body is transformed into a new one for Busker. They are joined by
Navid Negahban Navid Negahban ( fa, نوید نگهبان; born June 2, 1968) is an Iranian-American actor. He has appeared on '' 24'', ''Homeland'', '' Mistresses'' and as Amahl Farouk / Shadow King in the second and third seasons of FX's ''Legion''. He has al ...
, cast as the true form of the
Shadow King The Shadow King (Amahl Farouk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is particularly associated with the X-Men family of comics. His nemesis is the X-Men's leader, Professor X, while he also ...
, a character that appeared in several different forms throughout the first season.
Jemaine Clement Jemaine Atea Mahana Clement (born 10 January 1974) is a New Zealand actor, comedian, musician and filmmaker. He has released several albums with Bret McKenzie as the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, and created a comedy series of the ...
and
Hamish Linklater Hamish Linklater (born July 7, 1976) is an American actor and playwright. He is known for playing Matthew Kimble in '' The New Adventures of Old Christine'', Andrew Keanelly in ''The Crazy Ones'', and Clark Debussy in ''Legion''. He is the son of ...
also star in the second season, after having guest roles during the first season as Oliver Bird, the husband of Melanie, and the "Interrogator" Clark Debussy, respectively. Season 3 added relative newcomer
Lauren Tsai Lauren Tsai (born February 11, 1998), is an American visual artist, model, and actress. She is best known to audiences for her appearance in the Fuji TV and Netflix series '' Terrace House: Aloha State''. She made her acting debut in the third an ...
as Switch, "a young mutant whose secret ability serves as the key to executing David Haller's plan". She is loosely based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. In February, it was announced that the characters Gabrielle Haller and
Charles Xavier Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co- ...
would appear, played by Stephanie Corneliussen and
Harry Lloyd Harry Charles Salusbury Lloyd (born 17 November 1983) is an English actor. His performance in the Channel 4 miniseries '' The Fear'' (2012) earned him a British Academy Television Award nomination. He gained prominence through his roles as Will ...
, respectively; Prior to Lloyd's casting,
Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actor ...
was approached about reprising his role as Xavier from the film series. Clement and Smart return as Oliver and Melanie Bird, respectively, as guest stars.


Design

Though he put little thought into the aesthetics of the series when writing the pilot, as a director Hawley wanted the series to be highly stylized, describing his vision for it as "a 1964
Terence Stamp Terence Henry Stamp (born 22 July 1938) is an English actor. Stamp is known for his sophisticated villain roles. He was named by ''Empire Magazine'' as one of the 100 Sexiest Film Stars of All Time in 1995. He has received various accolades inc ...
movie". It was not feasible to literally translate
Bill Sienkiewicz Boleslav William Felix Robert Sienkiewicz ( ; born May 3, 1958) is an American artist known for his work in comic books—particularly for Marvel Comics' ''New Mutants'', '' Moon Knight,'' and '' Elektra: Assassin''. Sienkiewicz's work in the 198 ...
's iconic artwork of the character to the screen, and Hawley wanted the series to have "its own visual aesthetic to it, and part of that is being a story kind of out of time and out of place". He stated that "the design of a show has to have its own internal logic", and compared this sensibility to the series ''
Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...
'', which he said was "a great example of something that had this almost fetishistic beauty to everything that you saw, whether it was food or violence." Hawley elaborated that the design choice of 60s British films came about because "this whole show is not the world, it's David's of the world. He's piecing his world together from nostalgia and memory and the world becomes that."


Filming

Filming for the pilot took place in
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, with Hawley directing and
Dana Gonzales Dana W. Gonzales (born November 18, 1963) is an American director and cinematographer from Los Angeles, California. Career Dana is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers, the Academy of Motion Picture and Sciences, and the Televisio ...
serving as cinematographer. With the series order, the rest of the first season were set to also film in Vancouver, with Craig Wrobleski also working as a cinematographer. Both Gonzales and Wrobleski previously worked with Hawley on ''Fargo''. The pilot featured a large amount of in-camera effects, which Hawley admitted would be a challenge for the series' directors to maintain, given he had 21 days to film the pilot, but the subsequent episodes were only scheduled 8 days of filming each. Some of these shoots ultimately had to be extended to 10 or 11 days filming to meet Hawley's vision. For the second season, the series relocated its production to
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
to take advantage of tax incentives provided by the
California Film Commission The California Film Commission (CFC) was founded in 1985 by then California Governor George Deukmejian to act in an economic development capacity for the state. It is a part of the California Trade and Commerce Agency, formerly the Business, Trans ...
under its "Program 2.0" initiative.


Music

Jeff Russo Jeff Russo (born August 31) is an American composer, songwriter, guitarist, vocalist and music producer, and one of the two founding members of American rock band Tonic. He is also a founding member of acoustic rock band Low Stars. Russo is a ...
was revealed to be composing the series' score in October 2016. Hawley stated that when first meeting with Russo about the series, he told the latter that he wanted the series to sound like
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
's ''
The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973 by Harvest Records. The album was primarily developed during live performances, and the band premiered an early version of ...
'', explaining "that album more than anything is really the soundscape of mental illness to some degree". Russo felt that "the important part is allowing the humanity of these characters to really shine through", and in addition to an orchestra he used "a bunch of old synthesizers" and "a lot of interesting sound design" to represent the "otherworldly" elements of the series. With the series' premiere, Russo reiterated that the "through-line" of the series is the relationship between Haller and Barrett, and said that a love story "lends itself to musical moments. It allows it to underscore the character." After his early meetings with Hawley, Russo developed some initial ideas for the score, and created three different themes to represent Haller. He adapted these ideas to fit the episodes once they had been edited. A soundtrack album for the first season was released digitally on February 24, 2017, on
Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
.


Shared universe connections

Landgraf stated, in January 2016, that the series would be set in a universe parallel to the ''X-Men'' films where "the US government is in the early days of being aware that something called mutants exist but the public is not". He felt it was unlikely that characters would cross over between the show and films, but noted that this could change between then and the premiere of the series. That July, an article on
Marvel.com Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises) is an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, New York, formed by the merger of Marvel Entertainment Group and Toy Biz. The company is a wholly own ...
referred to Legion as one of several characters joining the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
(MCU), suggesting that ''Legion'' would be set in that
shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...
like Marvel Television's other series. The next month, Singer said that ''Legion'' had actually been designed to fit into the ''X-Men'' universe, but also to stand alone, so "you wouldn't have to label" the relationship between the series and the films. He teased plans to have the series "relate to future ''X-Men'' movies". At
New York Comic-Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to comics, Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, Film, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. History The New York Comic ...
2016, Donner said that the series is "far from the ''X-Men'' movies, but still lives in that universe. The only way for ''X-Men'' to keep moving forward is to be original and to surprise. And this is a surprise. It is very, very different." Hawley explained that because the series is depicting the title character's "subjective reality", it would not have to address any connections to the films straight away, noting that ''Fargo'', which is connected to the 1996 film of the same name, at first "had to stand on its own feet" before exploring those connections more; "We have to earn the right to be part of this universe. My hope is we create something so strong that the people in the movie studio call and say they would be foolish enough not to connect these things." He did state that "you can't tell this story without" acknowledging that Legion is the son of the incarnation of
Charles Xavier Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co- ...
who appears in the films (portrayed by
Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actor ...
and
James McAvoy James McAvoy (; born 21 April 1979) is a Scottish actor. He made his acting debut as a teen in '' The Near Room'' (1995) and appeared mostly on television until 2003, when his feature film career began. His notable television work includes ...
). In regards to the MCU, Loeb stated that his involvement in the series was a sign that "bridges are being made" between Marvel and Fox, "but I don't want to make any promises ... Marvel heroes at their core are people who are damaged and are trying to figure out who they are in life. It doesn't matter whether or not they're X-Men,
Tony Stark Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charac ...
,
Matt Murdock Daredevil is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Daredevil was created by Literary editor, writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby. The c ...
or
Peter Parker Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August ...
... If you start at a place as strong as David's character is and you have a storyteller like Noah, then it's Marvel. In that way, it all connected." Set designer Michael Wylie had tried to put Roxxon Corporation and
Stark Industries Stark Industries, later also known as Stark International, Stark Innovations, Stark Enterprises and Stark Resilient, is a fictional company appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The company is depicted as being owned an ...
logos as Easter eggs in ''Legion'' but was not allowed to since ''Legion'' existed in a separate universe than Marvel Television's MCU-related series. Loeb and Donner stated in January 2017 that there were no plans to have ''Legion'' be the first in a series of connected shows on FX, like Marvel Television's group of interconnected ''
Defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: *Defense (military) *Defense (sports) **Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...
'' series on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
, and that ''Legion'' and the ''X-Men'' series being developed for
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
are "not going to get in each other's way." Donner stated that the series was just a chance to bring an X-Men character to the screen who was not going to be used by the films. The producers hoped that audiences would watch the show because of its character-focus and the talents of Hawley and the cast, rather than to "see a Marvel franchise show." Donner also noted that having Hawley focus on Haller's perspective of reality rather than connections to the ''X-Men'' films allowed the series to avoid the convoluted continuity of the films, "because we play with so many different timelines, and we rebooted and not really rebooted and all that" throughout the films. Therefore, "the cinematic universe will not worry about ''Legion''. They will not worry about these TV worlds at all. They will just continue in the way that they have been continuing." For the onscreen confirmation that Xavier is Haller's father in " Chapter 7", with Xavier's signature wheelchair shown in a brief flashback, the series' production was able to choose from any of the variant wheelchairs used throughout the film series. They settled on the version from '' X-Men: Apocalypse'', with the prop used in that film being brought out of storage for the show. Prior to
Harry Lloyd Harry Charles Salusbury Lloyd (born 17 November 1983) is an English actor. His performance in the Channel 4 miniseries '' The Fear'' (2012) earned him a British Academy Television Award nomination. He gained prominence through his roles as Will ...
's casting as a young Charles Xavier in the third season, in March 2017,
Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actor ...
was approached about reprising his role as Xavier from the film series, saying he was "Absolutely 100%" willing to reprise the role; while having Stewart return as a present-day Xavier had been "seriously considered" by showrunner
Noah Hawley Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
, he elected the older character's presence to be unnecessary upon deciding to have the season revolve around
time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...
, casting Lloyd instead after finding
James McAvoy James McAvoy (; born 21 April 1979) is a Scottish actor. He made his acting debut as a teen in '' The Near Room'' (1995) and appeared mostly on television until 2003, when his feature film career began. His notable television work includes ...
to be unavailable for filming.


Broadcast and release

''Legion'' aired on FX in the United States, and on Fox channels in over 125 other countries, releasing using a "day-and-date" delivery system so that viewers around the world get the series on the same day as the U.S.; Fox Networks Group's sales division handles distribution of the series to third parties.


Home media

The first season was released on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
and DVD in region 1 on March 27, 2018, in region 2 on October 2, 2017, and in region 4 on November 22, 2017. The second season was released as a manufacture on demand DVD in region 1 on October 30, 2018.


Reception


Ratings

Writing for Screen Rant, J.M. Brandt noted that FX extensively advertised the series, but was debuting the 90 minute (with commercials) premiere at 10:00pm on a Wednesday night, later than other genre "monster hits" like ''
Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
'' and '' The Walking Dead''. Brandt felt that the series' success would heavily depend on DVR viewing "to bolster what might be a likely smallish live audience". Following the series premiere, ''Legion''s debut ratings were described as "OK, not great", in line with other cable series debuts, but lower than other high-profile FX debuts such as ''
American Crime Story ''American Crime Story'' is an American anthology true crime television series developed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who are also executive producers, alongside Brad Falchuk, Nina Jacobson, Ryan Murphy, and Brad Simpson. The seri ...
'' and Hawley's own ''Fargo''.


Critical response

The review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reported a 90% approval rating for the first season, with an average rating of 8.45/10 based on 237 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Bold, intelligent, and visually arresting, ''Legion'' is a masterfully surreal and brilliantly daring departure from traditional superhero conceits."
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 82 out of 100 based on 40 reviews for the season, indicating what the website considers to be "universal acclaim". Ben Travers from ''
IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
'' called the first season "the most intricate, intimate superhero story to date." Travers praised the relatability and uniqueness of the show and how it never lost his interest. He wrote that "David’s story is one quickly identifiable to anyone who’s questioned themselves, and yet wholly unique to his one-of-a-kind point of view. The combination of character and presentation makes for constantly fascinating television." Travers was especially impressed with the quality of Legion's set pieces and the performances of the main cast. He writes "the sets could be admired independent of the show if they didn’t add so much to it, and the entire production raises its artistry to a level atypical of superhero stories (and at least on par with the best design on TV)" and "toss in dynamite performances (Jean Smart, we owe you a rave) matched by sizzling editing most Marvel movies would envy, and boom — 'Legion' is top-tier TV, right off the bat." His final grade of the first season was an A. A 91% approval rating for the second season was reported by Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7.75/10 based on 160 reviews, and a critical consensus reading, "''Legion'' returns with a smart, strange second season that settles into a straighter narrative without sacrificing its unique sensibilities." Metacritic assigned a score of 85 out of 100 based on 10 reviews for the season, indicating "universal acclaim". David Fear from ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' called Legion "the most mindblowing show on TV right now." He wrote that the show as a whole "keeps pushing the boundaries of the genre - then obliterates them entirely." Fear has heavy praise for season 2's uniqueness, and specifically praises a key scene in the first episode where the titular character Legion and his arch nemesis the Shadow King have a dance battle and relates it back to how he enjoys the show as a whole. He writes "Since ''Legion''‘s sophomore season started airing in April, I have watched this Bob-Fosse-meets-Maori-tribal-dance scene several dozen times. Every time I see it, I think: It makes no sense. It makes ''complete'' sense. It is self-indulgent, and utterly insane, and 19 different kinds of perfect. It inspires a total and utter sense of bliss. It’s familiar, riddled with pastiche and shout-outs, and totally ''sui generis.'' It is, in a way, exactly how I feel about ''Legion'' as a whole." Allison Shoemaker from ''
Consequence Consequence may refer to: * Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment'' * In operant conditioning, a result of some behavior * Consequentialism, a theory in philosophy in which the morality of an act is determi ...
'' has a less positive review of the show. Shoemaker wrote that season 2 "looks great and not much else" and that it "ends on a note that's hollow and hard to accept." Shoemaker also criticizes the character development of some of the side characters, and thought that they were very underdeveloped. She wrote "when you fall in love with a show, you sometimes make excuses for awhile and hope it gets its shit together. 'Well, Lenny is fascinating,' you say, justifying the paper-thin characterizations (and not just of women; Ptonomy, Oliver, and Clark are also all underdeveloped.)." Shoemaker's overall verdict of the season was that "There’s so much mess and emptiness. Looks great. Less filling." She gave the finale a D+ grade and the overall season a C+. Rotten Tomatoes reported a 93% approval rating for the third season, with an average rating of 7.9/10 based on 71 reviews. and a critical consensus reading, "In its final season, ''Legion'' remains a singular piece of visually arresting, mind-bending television that never fails to surprise." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 72 out of 100 based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Tim Goodman from ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' called the third season "weirdly told and wonderfully acted" but also cautioned viewers to not "get hung up on the plot." He gives this warning because he believes that viewers tend to get disappointed when TV shows do not line up with their exact expectations for the plot and writes that "if you were expecting something predictable or literal, well, you weren’t paying attention ''from the very first frame''." Goodman reviewed the first four episodes of the third season and wrote that he was "loving the direction the third and final season of ''Legion'' is going in because it has been less about Marvel and more about Hawley and, given the television track record of each, I’ll take the latter every time." His main thoughts on the first half of season 3 are that "Hawley is once again having a blast reimagining a Marvel superhero show and that "he is tripling down on the visual gymnastics and mind-altering aspects." In a less favorable review with a similar critique to Shoemaker's review of Season 2, David Sims from ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' called the third season "visually dazzling, but little else." He writes that "The set design is striking, and Hawley’s direction even more so: The pilot is rife with elaborately choreographed shots in which not a detail is out of place. It’s truly cinematic stuff that deserves to be taken in on the biggest screen possible." However, he critiques the show for not being able to stick to one main message and having messily delivered themes, which makes the overall story weaker. He wrote that the show "isn’t sure if it wants to be a show about David’s abilities, or about mental illness" and that "it tries so hard to dazzle that it forgets to tell a meaningful story."


Analysis

Discussing the series' exploration of mental illness, Charles Pulliam-Moore of
io9 ''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...
stated that schizophrenia is widely featured in popular culture and is generally misrepresented and noted that giving Haller schizophrenia was a change from the comics where the character had
dissociative identity disorder Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...
. He felt that the series takes advantage of this change both to show "mind-bending, trippy moments meant to convey to viewers how fractured and disorienting David's perceptions of reality can be" and by having characters like Melanie Bird insist that Haller can improve with treatment and counselling. Pulliam-Moore explained that other telepaths with mental illnesses in the ''X-Men'' franchise—
Jason Stryker Jason Stryker is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is usually depicted as the mutant son of William Stryker and an enemy of the X-Men. Publication history Created by writer Chris Claremont a ...
in '' X2'',
Jean Grey Jean Elaine Grey is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been known under the aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix and Dark Phoenix. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack K ...
in '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', and Charles Xavier in ''
Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gover ...
''—were all treated with drugs, and praised the alternative therapy explored in the series, as well as the fact that the removal of the Shadow King from Haller's mind was not an excuse to ignore the mental illness issues moving forward. He concluded, "It's that idea—that healing is an ongoing, complex, and dynamic process—that made ''Legion''s first season so strong", and hoped that it would be continued in the second season of the series. Tony Stallings from ''Hollywood Insider'' also discussed Legion's take on mental illness and mental health problems. He wrote that the show "is the first of its kind, as no other series in its genre has addressed the issue of mental health within the makeup of a superhero show quite like it has before or since." He thought that the show's choice to connect "David’s power with his mental instability raises the stakes" and that "it makes David as much of a danger to his friends as he is to his enemies despite noble intentions." Stallings thought that Hawley provided an accurate and closer look at mental illness with the show's writing and that "he demonstrates how severely it can impact people’s lives by weaponizing David’s disorder into potentially lethal powers and shows how important it is for David to get the treatment he needs to keep everyone around him safe." In his opinion, the show's best take on mental health is that it shows that "treatment itself is more than just medicine or pills. The most important treatment is support."


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* {{FX network programming 2010s American drama television series 2010s American horror television series 2010s American science fiction television series 2017 American television series debuts 2019 American television series endings American time travel television series American horror fiction television series American superhero television series English-language television shows Fiction with unreliable narrators Fictional portrayals of schizophrenia FX Networks original programming Horror drama television series Television about mental health Nonlinear narrative television series Television shows about spirit possession Fictional representations of Romani people Surrealist television series Television shows based on Marvel Comics Television series by Bad Hat Harry Productions Television series by Marvel Television 2010s American time travel television series Television series created by Noah Hawley