Alien: Earth has officially landed and it marks the first time Xenomorphs appear on the small screen. The series has received critical acclaim and racked up a total of 9.2 million views across streaming.
The tagline has always been, “In space no one can hear you scream,” but what about on Earth?
Past films never brought the series’ cosmic horrors to planet Earth, and the audience has never seen what Earth looks like in this world, but here it’s explored thoroughly in a way that expands upon the films.
So, how does Alien: Earth fit into the Alien timeline, and what does it mean for this long running franchise? Most importantly, does the show live up to the hype?
Alien: Earth translates the horror and sci-fi spectacle of the franchise’s blockbuster films into a cerebral prestige drama reminiscent of HBO’s Game of Thrones and Westworld.
Even through the transition to the small screen, the series maintains its incredible set design, alien effects and expansive world building.
The one difference between this series and the films is the amount of time the writers can spend on developing the characters.
Instead of having to orchestrate how to kill characters off to get to a final climax, they can instead spend time fleshing them out and exploring the deeper questions films in the series have only ever been able to touch on.
The function of a creature like the Xenomorph also changes within a tv series compared to a two-hour film, which allows for exciting new ideas to be brought to this monster who is a long-standing staple of the horror genre.
Xenomorphs are also not the only creatures, as there are several parasitic monsters that make their unpredictable debuts in this series.
Alien: Earth is posing interesting questions about humanity, climate, government and corporations within a horror sci fi genre setting.
This feels like one of those science fiction stories that is putting up a mirror to our society and even though this is a far-fetched future, it still has horrifying elements that feel like a real possibility.
Alien: Earth will excite the hardcore fans of the series, as well as any newcomer who finds its premise interesting.
The series continues the tropes and traditions while also reinventing the wheel with fresh ideas and deeper themes.
Created by Noah Hawley
Noah Hawley has been making a name for himself on the small screen over the past decade.
Other FX series such as Fargo and Legion put Hawley on the map and helped him to develop a strong relationship with the network.
The writer/director shared that he wasn’t allowed to watch Alien when it came out, however he did see Aliens in the theater. Therefore, when he was approached by Fox executives and asked if he had an idea for an Alien tv series, he quickly got to work.
Hawley’s unique style appears in Alien: Earth as he is unafraid to bring in new lore as well as reference iconic moments from the past.
As a creator, Hawley has an affinity for genre storytelling.
“I think genre is what makes morality exciting for an audience. The issues are the same, but the stakes go up,” Hawley said on “Alien: Earth – The Official Podcast.”
Hawley finds that the themes he repeatedly explores are not only more exciting but enriched when put in the context of a science fiction story.
“And I’ve always felt like if you entertain an audience, they give you permission to do more. More with theme, more with character,” Hawley said.
Alien: Earth reminds me of how Hawley similarly created Legion, which took the superhero genre and elevated it by turning it into an eight-to-ten-hour cerebral television series with overarching themes and slick style galore.
Cast
Alien: Earth features a cast of actors which include seasoned tv vets and exciting up and comers.
Inside this large ensemble, there are five characters to know a little about before diving into this universe.
Sydney Chandler as Wendy
Wendy is a terminally ill young girl who becomes the first human to have her consciousness transferred into an adult synthetic body.
Human and android hybrids are one of the new additions Alien: Earth brings to the Alien mythology.
Wendy and the hybrids that follow are deemed “Lost Boys” as they are all children who are now forever young after being transferred to a body that doesn’t age.
The series makes several references to Peter Pan, both the film and book.
Alex Lawther as Hermit
Hermit is a combat medic and the human brother of Wendy who he believes to have died from her terminal illness.
Lawther’s character has heart and intelligence when navigating the battlefield alongside fellow members of his response team.
In the first episodes, Hermit is seen trying to get out of his required service time to pursue a medical degree.
Samuel Blenkin as Boy Kavalier
Boy Kavalier is a young genius and trillionaire owner of Prodigy, a new capitalistic company introduced in Alien: Earth.
Prodigy is in competition with four other companies which maintain control over their respective areas of the world.
Kavalier is reckless and narcissistic in his pursuit of finding someone he deems as intelligent as himself to have a conversation with.
The character of Boy Kavalier is an intentional commentary on real life billionaires like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, as well as a metaphor for Peter Pan, the boy with an ego who never matures.
Babou Ceesay as Morrow
Morrow is neither man nor machine but rather a cyborg who works for the infamous Weyland-Yutani Corporation.
Weyland-Yutani is in direct competition with Prodigy and after Morrow’s ship crashes on Earth in Prodigy’s territory he must work to collect the alien specimens that the ship was bringing to Earth.
Morrow is a crafty character who seems to always find a way to land on his feet.
He doesn’t necessarily respect authority, but because he has outlived his family while traveling in space, all he has left is a duty to finish his mission.
Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh
Olyphant has a long illustrious career, and he is no stranger to great television.
In Alien: Earth, Olyphant portrays Kirsh who is the synthetic of the show, and like most synthetics in the franchise, will likely be a fan-favorite character.
Kirsh leads Prodigy’s hybrids and offers council to Boy Kavalier while researching the xenomorphs and other parasites recovered from the wreckage of Weyland-Yutani’s ship.
This character has also shown signs that he is not necessarily loyal to his employer, Boy Kavalier, and it is important to keep an eye on how Kirsh develops over the length of this series.
Alien Timeline
Alien: Earth is set in the year 2120 before the events of the original film but not before the events of the prequel films.
The series only loosely ties into other films and focuses on telling its own story with original alien species alongside the classic xenomorphs and face huggers.
It is a perfect jumping off point for anybody interested in watching that doesn’t know anything about the other Alien films.
All of the Alien films are streaming on Hulu and Disney+ for when you want to dive deeper in the mythology.
Chronological Order of Timeline:
- Prometheus – 2093
- Alien: Covenant – 2104
- Alien: Earth – 2120
- Alien – 2122
- Alien: Romulus – 2142
- Aliens – 2179
- Alien 3 – 2180
- Alien Resurrection – 2379
Predictions
As Alien: Earth continues to succeed and knowing it is now a Disney owned brand, we can expect to see more connections and franchise expansion.
The series can realistically last as long as Hawley wants it to or as long as he is able to keep it fresh and not repetitive.
There is a precedent in past Alien films where humans, androids or aliens win depending on which film you are watching.
I predict in this new series that we will see hybrids come out on top as long as they choose the good qualities of humans and combine that with the longevity of androids.
The parasites and xenomorphs will continue to play a pawn role in the series as these leaders of world-dominating corporations fight for who ultimately will gain control of the planet.
The real question is will they destroy everything on Earth by the time the last one is standing?
When & Where to Watch
Alien: Earth drops on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ outside of the U.S. every Tuesday at 8 pm ET when the episode simultaneously airs on FX.
- Episode 1-5: Available to stream now
- Episode 6: “The Fly” – September 9
- Episode 7: “In Space, No One” – September 16
- Episode 8 (Season Finale): “The Real Monsters” – September 23
