ALIEN: EARTH Review: Your Next Epic Sci-fi Series Obsession Is Here
This review is based on the first six episodes. FX’s "Alien: Earth” premieres with two episodes on Tuesday, August 12 on Disney+ in Canada at 5pm PT / 8pm ET, and on the FX linear channel at 8pm ET/PT.
By 2120 all global governments had fallen and Earth is now run by five big corporations: Prodigy, Weyland-Yutani, Lynch, Dynamic, and Threshold. People coexist with cyborgs (humans with both biological and artificial parts) and synthetics (humanoid robots with AI). But everything shifts when the brilliant founder and CEO of Prodigy, Boy Kavalier, unlocks a new tech: hybrids (humanoid robots with human consciousness). The first hybrid prototype, Wendy, kicks off a whole new era in the quest for immortality.
When Weyland-Yutani’s deep space research vessel, the USCSS Maginot, crash-lands on Earth, on Prodigy Island, Wendy and her ‘Lost Boys’ volunteer to go to the crash site and help. They make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat(s). Wendy and the other hybrids encounter mysterious life forms more terrifying than anyone could have ever imagined.
It was once said, 'In space no one can hear you scream'.
That tagline for the original Alien film back in 1979 has resonated for over four decades. Now, in 2025, no one can hear you scream even in the comfort of your own home. Only because everyone else in the room with you is screaming as well, drowning out your cries in surprise and horror.
FX’s Alien: Earth was created for television and executive-produced by Noah Hawley, and will be your new sci-fi horror obsession for the next few weeks. Once again, a major studio has taken an admired sci-fi franchise and made a long-form story, proving this is the way to go. Take your time, enjoy the moments, there is no rush. Alien: Earth is such a fine, slow-burn series, building off of moments of abject horror and terror.
In the timeline, we now know that Alien: Eearth takes place two years before Ridley Scott's seminal sci-fi horror movie. Weyland-Yutani will not learn their lesson during this series, or they won't get what they wanted, so they’ll keep letting infected vessels like the Nostromo return to Earth.
Through the course of the first six episodes, events before and after the crash are explored. Wendy learns more about herself and what it means to be 'human'. Add to the mix a dash of corporate espionage and deal-making between Kavlier and Yutani as the latter tries to get the contents of that ship back, by any means neccesary, while the cargo itself has other ideas.
As mentioned earlier, the series explores what it means to be human, or not human. How does your understanding of that existence depend on who you are? In a world where cyborgs, synthetics, and now hybrids have been developed, everyone is seeking the discovery that will redefine humanity.
As one character pointed out to another, we used to be food. There was a time when we were not top of the food chain, and it wasn’t until our brains developed and we made tools to defend ourselves that we rose to the top of it. Has humanity stayed at the top with all these technological advances? Or will these discoveries, now housed in the research facility over at Prodigy, prove otherwise?
And when the memories can be controlled and erased, what does that say about their existence? What does it mean anymore if it can be tailored to their creator’s liking? After six episodes, we were also left wondering, if you’re made to be immortal and you still ‘die’, can you be uploaded into another synthetic body? We’re left waiting for weeks to find out now.
Embracing its full horror potential, this series goes all out on the horror elements, satisfying gore fans, for sure. The makeup effects crew must have had a blast with this one.
Deep space is Australia; everything is trying to kill you.
For the first time, the Alien universe shows how vast and wide the universe is, and the xenomorphs are not the only threat out there. Still, we feel there is more brutality in their violence. The xenomorph attacks seem more savage this time around. There's just a greater sense of physical weight behind each kill.
A handful of new terrors are introduced to us, each one just as deadly, with new ways to kill their human captors. The star of the show will always be the xenomorph, but the fucking Eye, folks. The fucking Eye!
And we just have to say, holy hell, does Alien: Earth look good. We could not get over how good looking this show is. There is some impeccably placed framing, along with a lot of beautiful shots and cinematography. But it wasn't the POV shots of the Alien careening through the hallways, but the overlaying of images in some of these moments, a technique we first saw back in Alien 3, that sealed it for us. It proves, once again, that all you haters are wrong about that chapter - it is that good. Fucking, Noah Hawley recognizes that.
And do not get us started about those deep zooms throughout the episodes. We cannot explain why we are so tickled by them, but golly, a super zoom to narrow focus on Kirsh, through a shower of sparks, made us weak in the knees. Someone get us a therapist to explain that to us.
The cast is led by Sydney Chandler, who is just so, so good, in the role of Wendy. The series showcases an exceptional cast, which includes the incredible Timothy Olyphant as her handler, Kirsh, and Alex Lawther, who is excellent as the Prodigy medic Joe Hermit (among other things), who gets caught up in this mess.
Samuel Blenkin is Boy Kavalier, the CEO of Prodigy, who squares off against Sandra Yi Sencindiver’s Yutani. Her Plan B is Morrow, played by Babou Ceesay. He was the security officer on the Maginot and quite the ruthless bastard, trying to save and recover the cargo from that ship. You’re not going to like him, but also like him, we’re sure.
Then there are the ‘Lost Boys’: Lily Newmark (Nibs), Erana James (Curly), Adarsh Gourav (Slightly), Jonathan Ajayi (Smee), Kit Young (Tootles). Their origins are given up in the first episode, but you should still discover them for yourselves. But once you do, you will appreciate just how well they are still their former selves in their new forms. All five of them just nailed it.
Top to bottom, the cast is excellent.
Noah Hawley has crafted a slow-burn sci-fi horror that tackles themes about what it means to be human, all set against a backdrop of cutting-edge technology and corporate greed. It’s got plenty of brutal xenomorph action and creepy new terrors from deep space, all shown off against fantastic visuals and horror effects that fans will love. Horrific action pierces these musings like a xenomorph's inner jaw pierces skulls.
The cast is strong, especially Sydney Chandler and Timothy Olyphant, and the story raises questions about memory, identity, and even immortality in a universe where humans and synthetic beings mix. With its solid story, brutal action, and eye-popping shots, Alien: Earth looks like it’s going to be a standout addition to the Alien franchise. And it is going to be your new sci-fi horror obsession over the next few weeks.
Alien: Earth
Writer(s)
- Noah Hawley
Cast
- Sydney Chandler
- Alex Lawther
- Timothy Olyphant
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