For the first time since its debut in 1979, the Alien franchise has been spun off onto the small screen, and the first reviews of the series are mostly positive. Created by Fargo’s Noah Hawley, Alien: Earth opens up the Alien universe and brings its Xenomorph horror to our planet, albeit a version set in the distant future. The show introduces a lot of new elements while still catering to what the fans want, but many of the reviews point out that it does take its time getting to the really good stuff.
Here’s what critics are saying about Alien: Earth:
Will it satisfy die-hard Alien franchise fans?
Alien: Earth is the ultimate sci-fi series for fans of Alien.
— Jamie Parker, CBR
The eight-part FX series is a devoted fan’s dream come true.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
Alien: Earth is the best the franchise has been since Isolation…for a lifetime fan, this is what dreams (and nightmares) are made of.
— Cameron Frew, Dexerto
Alien: Earth is the kind of project where you can feel the love for the franchise seeping into every frame.
Alien: Earth manages to not only “give the fans what they want,” but also add entirely new parameters to the mythology that Ridley Scott invented years ago.
— Eric Diaz, Nerdist
How does it compare to the movies?
It’s too soon to state whether Alien: Earth can be classed as one of the best in the series, but it’s certainly looking like it could be.
— Gavin Spoors, FILMHOUNDS Magazine
Is this the best Xenomorph story since James Cameron’s Aliens? On the basis of the first six episodes it sure feels like it.
— Will Salmon, GamesRadar+
Hawley’s series gives us the horror of Alien, the deeper ideas of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, the dissection of corporate greed in Aliens and Alien: Romulus, and even some of the more fun ridiculousness of this series’s most absurd moments.
— Ross Bonaime, Collider
Alien: Earth [scratches] that scared-of-the-dark itch – perhaps better than any entry in the franchise outside of the first movie.
— Clint Gage, IGN Movies
Alien: Earth manages to be a better version of the young adult-centric story Alien: Romulus attempted to tell.
— Ron Hilliard, Discussing Film
Alien: Earth gets so caught up in aping the iconic imagery and tense horror thrills of Ridley Scott’s Alien that it never follows through on its most interesting ideas.
— Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse
Is it a fresh addition to the franchise?
It’s a fascinating and frightening extension of an oft-confined space.
— Ben Travers, IndieWire
Hawley expands on the world of Alien, taking it to fascinating new places and crafting sequences as gripping as a Facehugger.
— Belen Edwards, Mashable
Hawley has taken a concept that has no business working for television and shaped it into something thrilling, strange, and surprising…it finds fascinating ways to expand on concepts introduced in the background of the films.
— Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone
Alien: Earth often retreads ideas and themes that have already been explored in the…movies, and to a lesser effect.
— Ron Hilliard, Discussing Film
Does it deviate too much from the Alien franchise canon?
Hawley’s decision to negate Ridley Scott’s previous Alien films leads the main narrative, which is sure to divide audiences from the first episode alone.
— Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture
It’s an admirable choice that, admittedly, leads to certain elements that feel fresh and engaging.
— Ron Hilliard, Discussing Film
There’s nothing here so far that explicitly contradicts the later films, or Scott’s divisive prequels, but Alien: Earth successfully restores a sense of mystery to this universe.
— Will Salmon, GamesRadar+
I’m not totally sold on Hawley introducing cyborgs into the mix, since they’ve never really been part of Alien lore, but Ceesay’s performance is strong.
— Chris Bumbray, JoBlo’s Movie Network
There are also various events, and lessons learned about the creatures, that cause large swaths of Aliens to make substantially less sense.
— Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone
How does the show look?
This is a gorgeous show…even on home setups, Alien: Earth feels epic thanks to rich visuals and sound design.
— Gavin Spoors, FILMHOUNDS Magazine
Technically, the show is top-tier. It goes out of its way to emulate the look of Scott’s 1979 classic.
— Chris Bumbray, JoBlo’s Movie Network
The costume and production design are top-notch.
— Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture
The show looks phenomenal top to bottom; credit to the production designers, cinematographers (if you like split diopters, you’ll be pleased), and Hawley for making the small screen feel so immersive and intricately detailed.
— Cameron Frew, Dexerto
Much like Andor reminded us that Star Wars’ original production designs by Ralph McQuarrie were peak back in 1977, Alien: Earth reminds us that the original aesthetic of Alien still works perfectly decades later. If it ain’t broke, etc.
— Eric Diaz, Nerdist
Is it scary?
There’s no shortage of goopy effects and merciless violence to appease horror fans, and it goes a long way to keeping the atmosphere of the show palpably tense.
— Christopher Cross, Asynchronous Media
The Xenomorph is still terrifying, when handled deftly.
— Ben Travers, IndieWire
What if we told you the scariest thing in Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth was not the Xenomorph, but a sheep with the creepiest stare you’ve ever seen?…Trust us, it’s nightmare fuel.
— Eric Diaz, Nerdist
The new aliens are convincingly rendered enough to induce entirely new fears, including a parasitic eyeball that hijacks the nervous system.
— Alison Herman, Variety
One eyeball-themed alien is so creepy, and so creatively deployed, that I would gladly watch a standalone film about it terrorizing the crew of a mining ship.
— Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone
The Alien franchise has found it’s Grogu. Just, you know, terrifying instead of adorable.
— Clint Gage, IGN Movies
Alien: Earth successfully brings the horror of the franchise to the small screen, but utilizes the format to give audiences more than just frights.
— Gavin Spoors, FILMHOUNDS Magazine
Could there be more scenes of the alien in this Alien TV show?
Fans of the franchise who are after alien carnage won’t be disappointed.
— Gavin Spoors, FILMHOUNDS Magazine
The series seems almost reluctant to give us much Xenomorph material, instead choosing to focus on literally everything and anything else.
— Chris Evangelista, Slashfilm
By the end of the season, the titular Alien is almost an afterthought — for better, certainly (pushing forward, while uncomfortable, is often necessary when it comes to nostalgia), but what’s worse is needlessly so.
— Ben Travers, IndieWire
The Alien films’ Xenomorphs are, in my mind, the greatest movie monsters ever created. It’s shocking, then, that they’re the least interesting part of FX’s Alien: Earth.
— Belen Edwards, Mashable
The main issue is, ironically, the Xenomorph itself. This may be the result of unfinished VFX in the episodes that were provided to critics for review, but Alien: Earth‘s action sequences frequently get neutered through choppy editing.
— Zachary Lee, MovieWeb
How are the new characters?
They’re not as flashy as the voracious monsters, but they prove a richer vein to mine.
— Alison Herman, Variety
The Lost Boys in general, and Wendy in particular, prove so interesting that any hiccups elsewhere don’t matter that much, especially after the first handful of episodes.
— Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone
Wendy (Sydney Chandler), the first Prodigy hybrid, is one of the most interesting protagonists since Ripley’s clone in Alien: Resurrection.
— Cameron Frew, Dexerto
The series’ most intriguing new invention is its main character, Wendy…Timothy Olyphant’s Kirsh is a worthy successor to Michael Fassbender’s David and the other rabble-rousing androids.
— Ben Travers, IndieWire
Kirsh is a kindred spirit to Michael Fassbender’s ruthless Prometheus and Alien: Covenant robot David, and his clandestine machinations are one of many elements that Alien: Earth juggles with suspenseful poise.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
So far, I really like Chandler, and Olyphant is suitably mysterious as the synthetic who may—or may not—end up being an ally.
— Chris Bumbray, JoBlo’s Movie Network
Babou Ceesay, who plays Morrow, a cyborg security officer, is the secret MVP. Stoic and steadfast, his internal conflict and emotional turmoil are slowly peeled back in a riveting performance.
— Gavin Spoors, FILMHOUNDS Magazine
Does it take a while to get really good?
It’s not until the fourth or fifth (out of an eight-part season) that the series reaches the turning point from setting things up to paying them off…if the first few hours of the season can feel like a slow burn, the last few let all hell break loose with glorious, gory abandon.
— Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
Season 1 of Alien: Earth takes a considerable amount of time to find its footing. It doesn’t gain momentum until midway through, and by then, you can’t help but wonder if it’s too late.
— Ron Hilliard, Discussing Film
As the show narrows its focus in the final episodes, it does start to feel a little rushed, ending in a less satisfying place than it could have, but not by much.
— Clint Gage, IGN Movies
After the momentum of the show’s promising start breaks halfway through the season, the prospect of more of this series and its empty characters starts to feel like a chore.
— Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse
Are there any other major problems?
Where Alien: Earth slips up is in a few tonal missteps, one worrisome creative leap, and with the alien itself.
— Ben Travers, IndieWire
The most glaring [problem] is arguably the music, in which Jeff Russo provides a fitting score that is undercut by every episode ending with the most jarring integration of modern rock and metal from Tool to Metallica to The Smashing Pumpkins. It just doesn’t fit in an otherwise consistent presentation.
— Christopher Cross, Asynchronous Media
Ultimately, the greatest sin Alien: Earth commits is that it ends up being boring.
— Chris Evangelista, Slashfilm
Will it leave us wanting another season?
Will leave fans craving more. Combined with a wonderful cast of new and well-known talent, Alien: Earth is definitive proof that the franchise still has lots more stories to tell.
— Jamie Parker, CBR
[Hawley] made an Alien prequel that has us fully invested and wanting more. Hopefully, more comes in the form of a second season, sooner rather than later.
— Eric Diaz, Nerdist
Much like Alien: Covenant benefited from letting David go full-on Dr. Moreau, season 2, if it’s greenlit, would benefit greatly from fully unleashing Kirsh.
— Ben Travers, IndieWire
If Alien: Earth is to continue for another season, Hawley will need to focus less on the aliens and bring his gaze back down to Earth.
— Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse
Alien: Earth premieres August 12 on FX and Hulu.
