TV Review: ‘Alien: Earth’

‘Alien: Earth’ receives 9 out of 10 stars.Launching on FX and Hulu on August 12 with the first two episodes (six more debut once per week after that), ‘Alien: Earth’ is the latest attempt to get more mileage out of the venerable sci-fi/horror franchise birthed by writers Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett, alongside director Ridley Scott back in 1979 with ‘Alien’.

​‘Alien: Earth’ receives 9 out of 10 stars.Launching on FX and Hulu on August 12 with the first two episodes (six more debut once per week after that), ‘Alien: Earth’ is the latest attempt to get more mileage out of the venerable sci-fi/horror franchise birthed by writers Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett, alongside director Ridley Scott back in 1979 with ‘Alien’.   

‘Alien: Earth’ receives 9 out of 10 stars.

Launching on FX and Hulu on August 12 with the first two episodes (six more debut once per week after that), ‘Alien: Earth’ is the latest attempt to get more mileage out of the venerable sci-fi/horror franchise birthed by writers Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett, alongside director Ridley Scott back in 1979 with ‘Alien’.

Created by Noah Hawley (TV’s ‘Fargo’), the new series stars Sydney Chandler (‘Don’t Worry Darling’), Alex Lawther (‘Black Mirror’), Timothy Olyphant (‘Justified’), Babou Ceesay (‘Free Fire’), Essie Davis (‘The Babadook’) and Samuel Blenkin (‘Atlanta’).

Related Article: Timothy Olyphant to Star in Noah Hawley’s ‘Alien’ TV Series

Initial Thoughts

The ‘Alien’ franchise is one that can be truly hard to get a handle on. Following Ridley Scott’s genre-busting mash-up of sci-fi and haunted house movies in 1979, James Cameron blew the doors off the movie series with the superlative ‘Aliens’ in 1986, but since then it has been on something of a slippery slope –– David Fincher’s divisive ‘Alien³’ has its defenders, but even Scott’s more recent revisitation of the xenomorph universe headed into ponderous pretension.

Fede Alvarez’ 2024 effort ‘Alien: Romulus’ had better luck, but even that was derided for one or two choices (not the least of which was the dreadful application of a classic ‘Aliens’ line).

Now, here comes Noah Hawley, who has worked wonders mining established source material for new TV output, including Marvel’s ‘Legion’ and especially ‘Fargo’, which has evoked the Coen brothers’ movie while existing as its own beast.

He pulls off a similar trick here, respecting what has come before (or, er since this is a prequel, what will come after) with intensity, style and a healthy dose of humanity amongst the creature chaos.

Script and Direction

Hawley, leading an accomplished writing team that has worked on shows including ‘WandaVision’ and his own ‘Fargo’, treads the line between evoking what has gone before –– including thematically –– and invention, deepening and layering the story.

The ‘Alien’ franchise is ripe with subtext beyond the xenomorphs, and Hawley and his team take full advantage of the stories’ exploration of artificial intelligence and giant corporations (both could not be timelier).

And TV running times mean there is much more scope to take time with the characters, the initial beats of the first episode graceful and almost operatic, fully tuned into the working class “space-trucker” vibe of the original movie. It’s always compelling and never dull, interspersed with dynamic moments of horror as a deep-space vessel’s crew discovers that transporting weird creatures never works out in humanity’s favor.

There is also a welcome, skillful approach to exposition, bringing those who might not be familiar with the storylines up to speed.

Hawley also directs the first episode (Dana Gonzales handles the second and the lion’s share of the season), kicking things off with real style and epic feel for when the space ship comes roaring back to Earth, out of control.

The horror sequences of people being stalked by creatures (xenomorphs and some lethal new friends) really work well, delivering intensity while not losing focus on the performances.

Cast and Performances

Sydney Chandler, as Wendy a “Hybrid” (a human consciousness transferred into a synthetic body) is our main way in as the show starts, and Chandler brings a healthy blend of emotion and levity to the show. She’s compelling and watchable, and leads her ragtag band of fellow “Lost Boys” (and girls –– ‘Peter Pan’ is another thematic touchstone here) as they are drawn into the wider story, including a link to her past.

Alex Lawther as Hermit, a military medic working off his contract with the sprawling, powerful Prodigy corporation (one of franchise stalwart Weyland-Yutani’s big competitors and the funding/science behind the programme that created Wendy), gives a soulful, nuanced performance.

On the Prodigy front, company founder and resident genius/trillionaire Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) is also good value, a sort of Mark Zuckerberg type who is endlessly frustrated that no-one is on his level.

Elsewhere, Babou Ceesay is great as Morrow, the cyborg security chief of the crashing spaceship, whose concerns once things get out of hand are certainly not the safety of his crewmates, and he puts you in mind of Ian Holm‘s Ash from the original movie.

While what the production has done to Timothy Olyphant’s normally lustrous locks might be more horrifying than being stalked by a slavering beast, he’s typically excellent as the synth scientist at Prodigy who has become a father figure to Wendy.

Final Thoughts

Chalk another win up to Hawley’s list of TV shows you thought might not work, as ‘Alien: Earth’, at least on the basis of its initial episodes, is a triumph. Dread drips into emotion, the effects are top notch and the writer/director has mined something special here.

It’s not hyperbolic to suggest that this is a better extension of the ‘Alien’ universe than many previous attempts. Perhaps the xenomorphs are better off on the small screen for now.

Be careful watching it with friends, though –– everyone will hear you scream.

What’s the plot of ‘Alien: Earth’?

When the mysterious deep space research vessel USCSS Maginot crash-lands on Earth, Wendy (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat.

Who stars in ‘Alien: Earth’?

Sydney Chandler as WendyAlex Lawther as Joseph D. “Joe” HermitEssie Davis as Dame SylviaSamuel Blenkin as Boy KavalierBabou Ceesay as MorrowTimothy Olyphant as KirshDavid Rysdahl as Arthur SylviaAdarsh Gourav as Slightly

Movies in the ‘Alien’ Franchise:

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