Skip to main content

Fargo creator Noah Hawley is working on a Cat's Cradle TV series

Fargo creator Noah Hawley is working on a Cat's Cradle TV series

Share this story

Showrunner Noah Hawley has had remarkable success with his television adaptation of Fargo, and now he's working on turning another well-known work into TV: Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hawley is developing a limited series for FX based on the novel, which he will write and executive produce. It marks the third project that Hawley has cooking for the network; not only is FX the home of Fargo, now in its second season, but Hawley is developing the comic book adaptation Legion for them as well.

Originally published in 1963, Vonnegut's novel is a satirical send-up of religion, technology, and nuclear fears, following a narrator who meets up with the children of a (fictional) scientist that helped develop the nuclear bomb. From there he learns of a strange substance called ice-nine, which has the power to cause water to solidify, and a burgeoning new form of religion called "Bokononism." It's the kind of narrative that works wonderfully in Vonnegut's novel, but has had difficulty being translated into other mediums (Donnie Darko writer-director Richard Kelly even worked on an adaptation for Leonardo DiCaprio that was never produced). However, under the guiding hand of Hawley — who excels at creating fascinating, oddball characters — television could end up being a perfect match.