Well, well, well. The long-awaited Alien prequel series, Alien: Earth, has finally come out and the buzz around this show is off the charts. Critics and audiences alike are raving about this thrilling addition to the franchise, with some even calling it the best entry that has graced the Alien universe in decades.
With only two episodes out so far, the new sci-fi horror series has already earned its place as one of the highest-rated entries in the Alien franchise. Alien: Earth currently holds a Tomatometer score of 93% and an audience score of 77% on Rotten Tomatoes. This means that critics overwhelmingly love the show, while a strong majority of viewers are also enjoying it.
In comparison to the latest Alien movie in the franchise, Alien: Romulus (2024), which currently has an 80% Tomatometer score and an 85% audience score, Alien: Earth is receiving higher praise from critics, while audience enthusiasm is slightly stronger for the film.
Let's say we compare the sci-fi horror show to Aliens (1986), which is the highest-rated entry in the franchise with a 94% Tomatometer and audience score. Alien: Earth is already nearly matching that legendary acclaim, signaling that it could potentially take its place as the franchise’s all-time best entry if it continues on this trajectory.
Below, we shared more comparisons to other entries in the Alien franchise:
Tomatometer score | Audience score |
|---|---|
Alien (1979) - 93% | Alien (1979) - 94% |
Prometheus (2012) - 73% | Prometheus (2012) - 68% |
Alien: Covenant (2017) - 65% | Alien: Covenant (2017) - 55% |
Alien: Resurrection (1997) - 55% | Alien: Resurrection (1997) - 39% |
Alien 3 (1992) - 44% | Alien 3 (1992) - 46% |
Alien vs. Predator (2004) - 21% | Alien vs. Predator (2004) - 39% |
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) - 12% | Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) - 30% |
Noah Hawley created Alien: Earth. He serves as writer, director, and producer of the sci-fi series. The show takes place in the year 2120, two years before the events of the original movie, and centers around a world dominated by large, influential corporations like Weyland-Yutani and the rising Prodigy. The story kicks off when the USCSS Maginot, a Weyland-Yutani space vessel carrying live alien specimens, crashes on Earth. In the aftermath, a young human-synthetic hybrid and a small team of tactical soldiers must confront the deadly alien threat.
Sydney Chandler takes on the lead role as Wendy, the young hybrid. Also in the cast are Timothy Olyphant, Alex Lawther, Samuel Blenkin, Essie Davis, Adarsh Gourav, Kit Young, David Rysdahl, Babou Ceesay, and others.
There are a total of eight episodes in the first season. Since the first two episodes have already come out, that means we have six remaining. A new episode will air on FX and stream on Hulu every Tuesday until the expected season finale on Sept. 23. After those explosive first two episodes, we're more than ready to see what Alien: Earth has in store for the rest of the season!