FX Networks has ordered the first season of “Legion,” an X-Men spin-off focussing on Professor Charles Xavier’s son.

Production on the eight-episode first season will begin this summer in Vancouver and the new series from FX Productions and Marvel Television will debut on FX in early 2017.

“Legion” introduces the story of David Haller: Since he was a teenager, David has struggled with mental illness. Diagnosed as schizophrenic, David has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years. But after a strange encounter with a fellow patient, he’s confronted with the possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees might be real.

“We’ve come to expect excellence from Noah Hawley and with ‘Legion’ he has delivered another major creative achievement,” said Nick Grad, President of FX Original Programming. “Just as he did in reimagining ‘Fargo,’ he is bringing an entirely new aesthetic and sensibility to the enormously popular and richly represented X-Men world. The pilot episode is stunning, driven by incredible performances from Dan Stevens, Aubrey Plaza, Jean Smart, Rachel Keller and the rest of the cast. We join our producing partners at Marvel in congratulating the creative team for what they’ve accomplished and are as excited as the fans for the premiere of ‘Legion’s’ first season.”

“Marvel Television is thrilled to not only have our first partnership with FX go to series, but working with the enormously talented Noah Hawley makes it even better,” said Executive Producer and Head of Marvel TV, Jeph Loeb, “From the first time we heard Noah’s vision to his exceptional script and cast through the extraordinary filming of the pilot, we knew the series would  be incredible.”

Dan Stevens (“The Guest”), Rachel Keller (“Fargo”), Aubrey Plaza (“Parks and Recreation”) and Jean Smart (“Fargo”) star in “Legion.”

Noah Hawley (“Fargo”) will serve as an Executive Producer along with Lauren Shuler Donner (“X-Men: Days of Future Past,” “The Wolverine”), Bryan Singer (“X-Men: Days of Future Past,” “Superman Returns”), Simon Kinberg (“X-Men: Days of Future Past,” “The Martian”), Jeph Loeb (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Marvel’s Daredevil,” “Marvel’s Jessica Jones”), Jim Chory (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Marvel’s Daredevil,” “Marvel’s Jessica Jones”) and John Cameron (“Fargo,” “The Big Lebowski”). “Legion” is the latest project from Hawley and Cameron, two of the Executive Producers of the Emmy® and Golden Globe® -winning FX limited series “Fargo.”