FX’s Alien: Earth opens with a chilling blend of corporate dystopia, high-concept science fiction and the creeping horror that has defined the franchise for decades. Created by Noah Hawley with Ridley Scott as executive producer, the series is set in 2120, two years before the original 1979 film. Earth is under the control of massive corporations like Prodigy, Weyland-Yutani, Lynch, Dynamic and Threshold, and the show wastes no time in making it clear that their influence runs deeper than politics or law. The two-part premiere, Neverland and Mr. October, sets the stage with a tight mix of character-driven drama and Xenomorph terror.
In Neverland we meet Wendy, played with layered vulnerability by Sydney Chandler. Once a terminally ill child, her consciousness has been transferred into a synthetic adult body in a Prodigy experiment that is equal parts miracle and corporate power play. Her new form gives her strength and speed but raises uneasy questions about identity and control. Meanwhile, the deep-space research vessel USCSS Maginot, owned by Weyland-Yutani, returns from a mission carrying dangerous alien specimens. The crew wakes from cryosleep, but a deadly chain of events ends in chaos, bloodshed and a catastrophic crash on Earth. From the wreckage emerges Morrow, a coldly efficient cyborg played by Babou Ceesay, the sole survivor and a man-machine whose loyalty to corporate secrecy is as unsettling as the Xenomorph threat itself.
Mr. October moves the story into more dangerous territory. Wendy and the other hybrid children, unsettlingly dubbed the Lost Boys and Girls in a nod to Peter Pan, are sent into the crashed Maginot to find Hermit, Wendy’s brother, who has been caught in the chaos. Guided by their synthetic mentor Kirsh, played by Timothy Olyphant with a mix of precision and quiet empathy, the group faces both the claustrophobic corridors of the wreck and the living nightmares within. Each child, from Slightly to Tootles to Curly, Nibs and Smee, reveals flashes of personality that make their synthetic shells feel even more haunting. Hermit himself adds emotional weight, complicating the mission with a sibling bond that cuts through the cold efficiency of their design.
The show’s characters give the horror its heart. Wendy’s struggle with what she has become, Kirsh’s measured attempts at guidance, Morrow’s unflinching adherence to protocol and Boy Kavalier’s hubris as Prodigy’s egotistical CEO form the human—or post-human—core of the story. The hybrid children embody the tragedy of engineered life, while the Xenomorphs deliver the brutal, visceral threat fans expect. The series’ design leans into atmospheric dread, using shadow and silence as effectively as bursts of gore.
Alien: Earth is not just a prequel but a thematic extension of the original films, exploring corporate exploitation, the fragility of identity and the ethics of playing god. It asks what it means to be human when your body is a product and your mind a transferable asset. The Peter Pan motif lends a strange fairy-tale undertone, turning the Lost Boys and Girls into both victims and weapons.
The first two episodes deliver on both horror and story, blending tense set pieces with moments of quiet reflection. Alien: Earth is a gripping start that honors the legacy of the franchise while carving out its own voice, promising a season that will be as thought-provoking as it is terrifying.
Alien: Earth airs Tuesdays on FX.
