Resident Alien Cancelled by USA After Fourth Season

Coming as no surprise, USA has announced the cancellation of its sci fi comedy Resident Alien. That show shifted over to the USA Network from Syfy after its third season and took a notable cut in its budget, and I suggested at that time its fourth year could be its last. Variety has now confirmed that was the plan all along. The ratings for Resident Alien have actually been decent in its fourth season for a basic cable series, outpacing its prior year. But apparently that was not enough to convince USA execs to keep the show going, as I suspected, because I have had this one on Bubble status most of the season. Series creator and showrunner Chris Sheridan had the following to say to TV Insider about the show coming to an end:

I knew going into it that this was likely going to be our final season. Creatively, that was exciting because I knew we could spend the time wrapping up some storylines and driving toward an ending. I’m so proud of how good Season 4 is and especially proud that we were able to finish as strongly as we did, with a finale that is probably my favorite episode of the series.

He went on to add that the upcoming season finale provides “a very satisfying ending while also leaving the door cracked open for any future this world may have. I can’t wait for everyone to see it”. This show has developed quite a following over its four-year run, and I do expect fans to lobby for it to continue. If they make enough noise on the social networks, another venue might have an interest in taking a flyer on the show (more on that at this link).

This announcement brings the Cancellation/Renewal Score for the 2024-25 season to 18 cancelled and ending sci fi and fantasy entries (29% of shows tracked) vs. 30 renewed (48%). You can see the breakdown of the numbers and the full list of shows for the current and prior seasons on our Cancellation Watch Page.

Resident Alien follows an extraterrestrial being who crash-lands on Earth and takes over the identity of a doctor named Harry. He is on a mission to kill all humans on the planet, but his resolve starts to waver as he spends more time with the people he was sent to destroy. It stars Alan Tudyk, Sara Tomko, Corey Reynolds, Alice Wetterlund, and Levi Fiehler and it is based on the comic book of the same name created by Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse. The series finale will air on August 8th.

The 2024-25 season is almost done, but I expect more announcements to come out of Comic Con this weekend. Be sure to stay tuned to CancelledSciFi.com and our social media sites for updates and breaking news.

Keep up with the status of all the current sci fi and fantasy shows as well as news and updates on new and upcoming shows at CancelledSciFi.com.

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