As a young literary novelist, there was nothing that irked Noah Hawley more than stories that relied on plot. He didn't need elaborate story engines like plane crashes or vast conspiracies to fuel his characters and sell books, he thought.

That thinking lasted only until he ended up writing a book whose plot featured both.

"I thought, 'This is so much harder than just writing a literary novel,'" Hawley recalled to Business Insider. He meant "harder" as a compliment.

In the ensuing decades, Hawley, now 58, transitioned from novels to screenwriting and has become one of the most respected TV auteurs in Hollywood. He's done it by leaning into the challenge of making thoughtful yet commercially appealing art, with one deceptively difficult task as his signature move: adapting beloved IP int

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