Alien: Earth doesn’t waste any time and starts off quick. Most of the Alien film series has a slow burn that eventually leads to the Alien/Xenomorph getting blown out of a spaceship to die. The television series finally accomplishes getting the “Alien” to Earth — so now what?
The story unfolds inside a Weyland-Yutani science vessel, the USCSS Maginot, that’s headed back to Earth with various species. A Xenomorph has hatched and goes on a killing spree, and we’re introduced to Morrow (Babou Ceesay), a cyborg who has locked himself away to complete the mission despite the deaths of his crewmates.
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On Earth, Prodigy — one of five corporations — controls a region in Southeast Asia and is run by Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin), who has created a cutting-edge synthetic form with humanoid adult features. He has a few terminally ill children brought to his remote island of Neverland. Their consciousnesses are uploaded, and he calls them the Lost Boys. Among them is 12-year-old Marcy (Florence Bensberg), whose procedure is being overseen by Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant), a traditional, more old-school synthetic. Marcy eventually becomes Wendy (Sydney Chandler). Although she looks like an adult, she still has the mind of a 12-year-old and is adjusting to her new appearance.
When the vessel crashes to Earth, a military search-and-rescue team is dispatched to look for survivors. Wendy, who has been keeping tabs on her brother, CJ — a medic — is excited to reunite with him as part of the operation. She proposes that she and the Lost Boys are better equipped for the task and should aid them. Boy Kavalier, in addition, has an interest in the crash due to the contents on board the ship.
There have been six Alien movies, not counting the crossovers with Predator, and I would put this television series right behind Alien and Aliens, the two best in the franchise. Creator Noah Hawley doesn’t disappoint when he gets to play in television, which is probably why, after Legion and Fargo, he was entrusted to take this on for FX.
From the get-go, what Hawley does right is keeping true to the feel and production design from the movies. There’s an opening sequence featuring a female character in the vein of Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, emerging from a sleeping pod, that sets the tone. The look of the ship is likewise consistent with that of the USCSS Nostromo from Alien — no reimagining or updating like we have seen with other sci-fi movies that have moved into the modern era, such as Star Trek. Even the search-and-rescue team uniforms strongly resemble those worn by the Marines in Aliens.
If you’re paying homage to a beloved franchise, the challenge lies in making it your own. Hawley takes that approach in expanding the Alien universe, exploring life forms beyond the iconic Xenomorph and the potential havoc they could unleash on Earth. The narrative further delves into the political fallout and corporate power struggles triggered by the ship’s crash landing — an angle that may not immediately come to mind but adds a compelling layer of intrigue. We finally get introduced to the Yutani family of the Weyland-Yutani corporation.
Familiar themes return, such as the uneasy relationship between humans and synthetics, once embodied by characters like Ash and Bishop and now continued with Kirsh. What’s more, the introduction of Morrow, a cyborg straddling the line between hero and villain, blurs those moral boundaries further. There’s the new breed of synthetics as well — beings with the minds of children but advanced physical abilities. Their innocence and power raise troubling questions about how corporations like Prodigy might seek to manipulate them.
If you are a fan of the franchise and are skeptical, I’ve seen the first six episodes of eight, and I haven’t been disappointed yet — I’m eagerly looking forward to the last two.
Alien: Earth premieres on FX and FX on Hulu on August 12, 2025.
