Alien: Earth has delivered a strong addition to this venerable franchise, but its future status is uncertain at this point.
UPDATE: This show has been renewed for a 2nd Season.
What Is It?
This prequel series takes place in 2120, two years prior to the events in the 1979 film Alien. A research vessel carrying three alien species crash-lands in a city controlled by the powerful Prodigy, one of the five major corporations on the planet. A group of machine/human hybrids is sent in to investigate, while the CEO of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation (which owns the ship) tries to reclaim its cargo.
Airing: FX, Airs Tuesdays at 8 PM EST (New Episode Available on Hulu Next Day)
Starring: Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, Timothy Olyphant
Developed By: Noah Hawley
Why Is It in Danger?
UPDATE: This show has been renewed for a 2nd Season.
This Alien prequel series arrived with plenty of anticipation after it had been in development for several years. And with Noah Hawley’s name attached (Legion, Fargo), the bar was definitely set to a high level for the show. When it finally had its premiere in August, the buzz was immediately positive for the most part, with some saying it was the best entry in the franchise since the first two movies (you can read my review of the series at this link). In addition, viewership numbers were good early on with Disney touting 9.2 million views on Hulu and Disney+ across its first six days. Its same-day linear ratings on FX were not great (though also not bad for a basic cable show), but it appears that the digital platforms were where it was drawing higher viewership. And when the Nielsen Streaming Rankings caught up to the show, it placed in the Top 10, ranking there for four weeks in a row. So based on the feedback and numbers, the show seemed to be headed to a second-season renewal.
But that has not happened yet, even though Alien: Earth wrapped up almost three weeks ago. I thought the renewal would be announced right around the finale, which released on September 23rd. But there was no word on the show then, and Disney has remained silent on its fate. Noah Hawley has indicated that he has more seasons planned and that he sees the first year as a “proof of concept”. And fans certainly seem to be eager for the show to continue, especially considering that first-season cliffhanger. The ratings did trail off with later episodes, and the show did drop out of the Nielsen Rankings in its fifth week, so perhaps Disney execs are thinking long and hard about this one. It is rather expensive to produce, but viewership has been generally good for the show in the current competitive market. And if the Mouse House does end up cancelling this one, I am guessing there will be a pretty loud response from the fans.
What Can Fans Do to Help the Show?
Alien: Earth has not been cancelled yet, and I have not heard any suggestions that it will be, so take that as a positive for the moment. But I do find it odd that Disney has gone radio silent on the show after it arrived with such fanfare. This is a major entry in an important franchise for the company, so you would think they would want to keep it going, even if viewership did not quite meet up to expectations they may have had.
The best thing that fans can do at this point is watch the show. It is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu, and fans should stage watch parties to get it back into the Nielsen Streaming Rankings. In addition, they should get it trending on social media with hashtags like #RenewAlienEarth and #AlienEarthSeason2 (both of which are actually already being used). That extra activity will prove that there is a dedicated audience out there, and perhaps nudge Disney/FX execs to give the greenlight to a second season. That may already be in the works, and it sure seems like they would have an incentive to keep this one around, but the Call to Action from fans may be what is needed to assure the final sign-off for a renewal.
Where Can You Watch It?
As mentioned, all episodes are available for streaming on Disney+ and on Hulu. It may also be getting some encore runs on FX, and you can check the schedule to see when it is available.
Have you been watching Alien: Earth, and will you support fan efforts to keep the show alive? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments below.
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I hope it gets renewed and takes the opportunity to fix some of its first-season mistakes. The first season wasn’t perfect, but it had some intriguing ideas, most of the supporting cast was likeable enough, it was a fun watch, and I think internet armchair critics were a little unfair to it.
Should it pick back up again, the chief complaint I’ve got is that in 2025, there’s no excuse to play a “Mary Sue” Strong Female Main Character straight… no reason yet for me to think they weren’t planning to subvert expectations on that aspect already – the show’s story ended on an ambiguous enough note with plenty of room for adding some new dynamics and hidden depths to “Wendy” and the rest of the cast – but this character does seem to be at the heart of most of my own doubts about the show. And really, there’s nothing I had doubts about that couldn’t be “fixed” with some inspired and clever writing.
As it stands, I’d be willing to give a second season a try based on the strengths of the first season, and this first season does have its strengths. On its bright side, I’m glad the writers tried something a little different with new alien monsters, and focused on something other than the familiar “xenomorphs” and “engineers”, avoided the Predator crossover material, and that they chose to drive the story with a fairly large cast of android and human characters in a familiar but warped take on a cyberpunk setting (something that was a strength for the best movies in the film series.) My family and I enjoyed it, and there really hasn’t been much else on TV to look forward to after this series ended, so it was for us the best thing on TV (including streaming!)
This show sucked balls. Pretentions drivel through and through.
I watched it on FX. I liked it, a lot. But at the same time, I think Disney are a bunch of losers. So while it won’t surprise me at all if they cancel it, I hope it gets renewed.