After decades spent in space, Alien: Earth finally brought the Alien franchise both to Earth and to the small screen. Created by Legion and Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley, this long-awaited show finally brought the Xenomorph threat to Earth, which is not entirely unprecedented in the history of this franchise, but pretty close.
Given that a lot is riding on this show, it’s natural for people to have questions about it. Now that season 1 is over, here’s everything we know:
What is Alien: Earth about?
The story is set in the year 2120, just two years before the events of the original Alien and 16 years after Alien: Covenant. At this point in Earth’s history, the world is ruled by five massive corporations: Weyland-Yutani, Lynch, Dynamic, Threshold, and the newly formed Prodigy.
The official synopsis for the show explains: “When the mysterious deep space research vessel USCSS Maginot crash-lands on Earth, Wendy and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat.”
Alien: Earth opens with the crew of the Maginot traveling back home after collecting five dangerous alien creatures from across the cosmos. Such creatures include a mind-controlling eyeball with tentacles, a killer bug that sprays toxic gas, and a Xenomorph. These dangerous aliens are soon unleashed, and they bring plenty of scares in the show’s first couple of episodes.
The main character, Wendy, is a “hybrid,” a synthetic android downloaded with the mind of a natural-born human. Wendy is the first hybrid in the history of the Alien franchise, since her human body was afflicted with a terminal illness. Wendy is joined by a few other children who become hybrids known as “the Lost Boys.”
Wendy and the Lost Boys embark on a quest to reunite with and protect her brother, Joe, when he is sent to investigate the Maginot crash site. Also on the ship is the cyborg Morrow, who is dead-set on capturing and delivering the Xenomorph to his superiors at Weyland-Yutani.
On a more thematic level, the show is a meditation on the lines between artificial intelligence and humanity. This definitely isn’t a new theme for this franchise. However, given that the series is set on Earth, it offers a more nuanced portrayal of how humans perceive AI, with the leaders at Prodigy no longer considering Wendy a human being after they transfer her mind into a robot body.
At the same time, it explores humanity’s evolution and its place in the animal kingdom, with Kirsch (Timothy Olyphant) musing over how humans, despite their technological advancements, will become food for the predatory Xenomorph. However, the series has audiences view humanity’s relationship with the Xenomorphs in a new light after Wendy succeeds in domesticating one.
Behind all its musings about technology and alien life, this dark sci-fi series is a unique coming-of-age story. While Wendy and the Lost Boys inhabit their synthetic bodies, they all grow up fast and rethink their places in the world as they realize how adults have manipulated and mistreated them.
Who is in the cast of Alien: Earth?
The main cast of Alien: Earth includes:
- Sydney Chandler as Wendy
- Alex Lawther as Joe Hermit
- Essie Davis as Dame Sylvia
- Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh
- Samuel Blenkin as Boy Kavalier
- Kit Young as Tootles/Isaac
- Adarsh Gourav as Slightly
- Erana James as Curly
- David Rysdahl as Arthur Sylvia
- Babou Ceesay as Morrow
- Adrian Edmondson as Atom Eins
- Lily Newmark as Nibs
- Jonathan Ajayi as Smee
- Diêm Camille as Siberian
- Moe Bar-El as Rashidi
- Florence Bensberg as Marcy
- Rishi Kuppa as Aarush
While Alien: Earth has a large main cast, it also has a sizable list of recurring players, which includes:
- Richa Moorjani as Zaveri
- Sandra Yi Sencindiver as Yutani
- Kit Young as Tootles
- Lloyd Everitt as Hoyt
- Amir Boutrous as Rahim
- Karen Aldridge as Chibuzo
- Michael Smiley as Shmuel
- Jamie Bisping as Malachite
- Andy Yu as Teng
- Max Rinehart as Bronski
- Enzo Cilenti as Petrovich
- Tanapol Chuksrida as Dinsdale
- Tom Moya as Clem
When is the release date for Alien: Earth?
Alien: Earth hit Hulu and FX at 8 p.m. ET on August 12. The show debuted with two episodes, with one episode premiering each week from then until the eighth and final episode of the season.
Episode Dates:
- Episode 1 – Neverland: August 12
- Episode 2 – Mr. October: August 12
- Episode 3 – Metamorphosis: August 19
- Episode 4 – Observation: August 26
- Episode 5 – In Space, No One…: September 2
- Episode 6 – The Fly: September 9
- Episode 7 – Emergence: September 16
- Episode 8 – The Real Monsters: September 23
Are there any trailers for Alien: Earth?
There have been tons of trailers for Alien: Earth, including a full trailer that was released on June 5. That trailer provides a pretty good idea of the premise, but it doesn’t offer many spoilers beyond that. Overall, they have shown that the series is well-resourced and has the budget to be a long-term success.
A teaser released after the second episode showcased some of what happens in the rest of season 1. The video shows glimpses of Wendy and the Lost Boys imprisoned. It also shows the scientists at Neverland studying and experimenting on the captured aliens. This all came after Wendy reunited with Joe and ran off to rescue him from the Xenomorph at the end of episode 2.
What has happened in Alien: Earth?
Wendy succeeded in killing the adult Xenomorph, but both she and Joe are seriously wounded by it after their reunion. They are both taken back to Neverland by the Lost Boys, who have retrieved the other alien specimens. However, many of them haven’t been the same since their terrifying mission.
Slighty and Morrow have formed a wireless link to each other’s minds, allowing them to communicate from afar. Morrow manipulates Slighty into helping him retrieve a Xenomorph specimen that he can bring back to Weyland-Yutani. Slightly ends up using Arthur as a host, not knowing that the newborn alien would kill him.
Meanwhile, Nibs has been so shocked by her encounter with the one-eyed octopus that she makes herself believe she is pregnant. She starts acting like an adult to make herself feel stronger and cope with her trauma. Curly also competes for Boy Kavalier’s attention by trying to prove herself superior to Wendy, only to realize he doesn’t truly care about either of them.
Speaking of which, Wendy has realized she has the ability to hear the Xenomorphs communicating with each other, which Kavalier tries to exploit. Joe is also forced to work directly for Prodigy in order to stay close to Wendy and pay off his new mechanical lung, which he received after his near-fatal encounter with the Xenomorph. During one of Prodigy’s experiments with the Xenomorphs, a chestburster emerges from Joe’s infected lung, but Wendy is able to tame and bond with it by speaking its language.
After Dame erases part of Nibs’ memory and Tootles is killed by the alien specimens, Wendy and Joe attempt to escape from Neverland with Nibs. Wendy also uses the Xenomorph she tamed to try to escape from her prison at Neverland. However, they are captured by Kavalier’s soldiers and imprisoned with Morrow, who had infiltrated Neverland.
How does Alien: Earth season 1 end?
Season 1 ended with Wendy, Joe, and the Lost Boys breaking out of their prisons and taking control of Neverland from Kavalier and his soldiers. They imprison him with Dame Sylvia, Kirsh, Morrow, and Atom, with the two tamed Xenomorphs watching them from outside their containment cell.
Though Wendy said it is time for her group “to rule,” soldiers from the Weyland-Yutani corporation were seen flying toward the island. At the same time, the other alien specimens are still on the loose, with the tentacled eyeball taking control of Arthur’s dead corpse.
Where can I stream Alien: Earth?
In addition to being released on Hulu, Alien: Earth is also available to stream on Disney+ and to watch on FX if you have a cable subscription.
What was the verdict on Alien: Earth?
The critical consensus around Alien: Earth has been overwhelmingly positive. The movie has received universal acclaim with an 85 on Metacritic and a jaw-dropping 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. The 70% Popcorn Meter score also indicates that the show is a hit with most audiences.
It seems all those years of hard work on the series, along with the amount of time fans waited for an Alien installment set on Earth, have paid off.
In our 4.5-star review of the series, Digital Trends writer Anthony Orlando wrote, “FX’s hit series, Alien: Earth, brings intense sci-fi terror to Earth and new life to the Alien franchise.”
Will there be a second season of Alien: Earth?
It is very possible, as the season 1 finale left the door open for the story to continue with a spectacular war between Weyland-Yutani and the hybrids. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Noah Hawley discussed his plans for the show’s story going forward:
“This is not a closed-ended season. This chapter is closed, but Yutani troops are landing. The balance of power has shifted. These children have no idea what’s coming. The last line of, “Now we rule” is triumphant and uplifting. But cut to 10 minutes later … what is going to be happening? So I like that it has that real-time urgency to it.”
At this point, Alien: Earth hasn’t been renewed for a second season. Though Hawley claimed the show could run for as many as five seasons, he claims that he “doesn’t have a destination in mind for the series” beyond the first season.
