Alien: Earth Review: A Remarkable Enrichment of the Horror Series
Across the nine Alien films, the creatures may vary, but the sinister corporate entities remain constant. Ridley Scott’s original Alien implicitly points to Weyland-Yutani, revealing a colossal corporation that dominates space exploration. However, later installments of the franchise delve deeper, presenting a chilling commentary on the inherent violence of capitalism.
While Weyland-Yutani’s presence has grown in the Alien universe, FX’s new Alien: Earth series is pioneering in depicting the world from the ground. Set two years before the original film, this show explores fresh concepts concerning the origins of the series’ xenomorphs, presenting corporations as apex predators that rule the planet.
Before taking its narrative to Earth, Alien: Earth opens in a familiar setting aboard a Weyland-Yutani spaceship. The crew of the USCSS Maginot recognizes their expendable role to their employer. After 65 years of cryo-sleep in deep space, everyone is eager to return home and be compensated for their mission—a mission that required them to forgo any hope of reconnecting with their long-lost loved ones.
As the Maginot nears its scheduled reentry to Earth’s orbit, a sense of collective excitement permeates the crew. However, when the ship starts experiencing sensor and communication failures, security officer Morrow (Babou Ceesay) reminds everyone that their priority remains the safe transport of Weyland-Yutani’s prized alien specimens.
Though the show doesn’t explicitly reveal the fate of the Maginot crew right away, it offers unsettling glimpses of their future, suggesting this is, at its core, a classic Alien story. Chaos ensues, aliens escape, and the crew faces gruesome deaths, but the real horror unfolds once the Maginot crash-lands on Earth.
With exceptional production design, Alien: Earth is anchored in the broader universe that Ridley Scott unveiled in 1979. The Maginot differs from the Nostromo, yet its sterile, white corridors and analog interfaces reflect Weyland-Yutani’s mass production in its quest for interstellar dominance. The show is visually stunning, enhanced by a harmonious blend of digital and practical effects.
Noah Hawley, the show’s writer and director, endeavors to respect the original Alien both visually and thematically, teasing how the Maginot’s alien cargo becomes associated with Prodigy’s Peter Pan-obsessed CEO Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin). As he and his android assistant Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant) prepare to launch a groundbreaking technology aimed at granting the wealthy functional immortality, Boy seeks the Maginot cargo for its obvious value to Yutani (Sandra Yi Sencindiver).
Alien: Earth’s billionaires exhibit an obsession with leveraging technology to defy death, a key theme in the series. However, the series unexpectedly diverges from its predecessors when the Maginot collides with a towering Prodigy City skyscraper.
While the Alien franchise has previously touched upon Earth’s future, this series distinguishes itself by intricately detailing human society in 2120. Although climate change hasn’t fully devastated the planet yet, Prodigy City—filmed largely in Thailand—presents a densely populated urban area adapted to cope with a hostile environment. Despite the corporate capabilities to venture deep into space, there is still extreme wealth inequality where children succumb to diseases modern medicine can’t treat. Alien: Earth highlights how Boy’s wealth could be utilized to improve lives directly, like that of combat medic Hermit (Alex Lawther). Yet, Hermit remains obsessed with his latest invention—fully synthetic androids capable of housing digitized human consciousness.
In fact, Alien: Earth delves into the world of androids as much as it does into xenomorphs. The series presents Wendy (Sydney Chandler) and the other hybrids—children imbued with adult-like abilities. Although they are just kids, they represent a new breed of synthetic entity with capabilities vastly different from machines like Kirsch or cyborgs such as Morrow. Through the Lost Boys, Alien: Earth raises compelling questions about individuals whose existences revolve around technology. While they are humans, they are also subjects of experimentation by a figure representing the darker aspects of this futuristic world. (Notably, he never wears shoes.)
Thanks to its strong performances and sharp writing, Alien: Earth excels as a rich drama about youth navigating complex realities. Chandler effectively portrays Wendy’s awe and fear as the adults attempt to shape her into something she’s unsure about becoming. Moreover, the show presents some of the most unsettling and beautifully captured scares in the Alien franchise.
As xenomorphs gain prominence throughout the season, Alien: Earth successfully portrays each extraterrestrial as distinctly unsettling. With their transformations, they become increasingly uncontrollable and perilous—even for the powerful synthetics. These innovative creatures keep the narrative fresh while resonating with familiar threads found in other Alien installments.
Notably, despite its intricate arcs and intertwining character stories, Alien: Earth masterfully culminates in a unified, nightmarish climax that is deeply fulfilling. It’s uncommon for a prequel series to offer such an insightful and engaging extension of an established universe. Alien: Earth demonstrates remarkable depth, positioning itself as one of this year’s standout new series.
Alien: Earth also features Essie Davis, Adarsh Gourav, Kit Young, David Rysdahl, Jonathan Ajayi, Erana James, Lily Newmark, Diêm Camille, and Cameron Rodger Brown. The series premieres on August 12.
