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Look, we’ve said it before: it’s not the xenomorphs that are the monsters in the Alien series, it’s the corporations. But if you’re not going to believe us, perhaps you’ll believe Alien: Earth showrunner Noah Hawley, who says that the upcoming television series spinning out of the famed movie franchise is about to make the subtext text.

To Hawley’s credit, he’s specifically responding to a line of dialogue spoken by Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley in 1986’s classic Aliens, where she compares the humans around her to the xenomorph, saying, “I don’t know which species is worse. You don’t see [xenomorphs] fucking each other over for a goddamn percentage.”

Talking to Entertainment Weekly, the Fargo and Alien: Earth showrunner talked about the fact that his new show will focus on Wendy (Sydney Chandler), a robot infused with human consciousness, who becomes trapped at the center of a conflict between humanity and the xenomorph after a spaceship crash-lands on Earth... and the fact that Wendy then becomes an outsider who can see both sides of the conflict from something of an objective point of view.

“Sydney plays a somewhat innocent character who finds herself trying to navigate two kinds of monsters," he teased. "One is human and the other is from outer space. We do expand on that idea that it's going to be up to the audience which species is worse.” (We already know, Noah; it’s the humans.)

According to Chandler herself, Hawley coached her about how such a hybrid of robot and human would behave: "What is the essence of a kid or a young adult? How do their minds work differently than the adult mind?" she asked. "Kids are so present and they haven't been battered by the world as much as an adult. So they trust their gut and they don't second guess."

That might not work out so well when dealing with either the aliens or the humans, unfortunately. Sorry, Wendy.

Alien: Earth debuts August 12 on FX and Hulu, with new episodes weekly thereafter.

From Prometheus through Romulus (and beyond!), here's how to Watch the Alien movies in order.