This week, FX finally unveiled a bunch of new information for Alien: Earth, its upcoming Alien television series from Fargo creator Noah Hawley. Alien: Earth is prequel show set around two years before the original Alien film, when a ship bearing the iconic sci-fi monster crash lands on Earth. Up until recently, that was about all we knew about the series, at least from a plot perspective. But now we've got a lot more to go over. Let's break down everything we know about Alien: Earth.
Alien: Earth release date and episode count
Alien: Earth will premiere on Tuesday, August 12 at 8:00 p.m. EST on Hulu as well as, presumably, its sister streaming service Disney+, and 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on FX.
The show's first season consists of eight episodes total, with the first two dropping on the premiere date. After that, one episode will air a week on Tuesdays until the season finale on September 23.
Alien: Earth plot synopsis
Here's the official plot description for Alien: Earth:
"When the mysterious deep space research vessel USCSS Maginot crash-lands on Earth, 'Wendy' (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat in FX’s Alien: Earth.
In the year 2120, the Earth is governed by five corporations: Prodigy, Weyland-Yutani, Lynch, Dynamic, and Threshold. In this Corporate Era, cyborgs (humans with both biological and artificial parts) and synthetics (humanoid robots with artificial intelligence) exist alongside humans. But the game is changed when the wunderkind Founder and CEO of Prodigy Corporation unlocks a new technological advancement: hybrids (humanoid robots infused with human consciousness).
The first hybrid prototype, named Wendy (Chandler), marks a new dawn in the race for immortality. After Weyland-Yutani’s spaceship collides with Prodigy City, Wendy and the other hybrids encounter mysterious life forms more terrifying than anyone could have ever imagined."
Alien: Earth cast list
Alien: Earth has an ensemble cast, and as of this writing, we know a bunch of the actors and what characters many of them are playing. Let's run through everyone:
- Sydney Chandler as Wendy
- Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh
- Alex Lawther as Hermit
- Samual Blenkin as Boy Kavalier
- Babou Ceesay as Morrow
- Adrian Edmondson as Atom Eins
- David Rysdahl as Arthur Sylvia
- Essie Davis as Dame Sylvia
- Lily Newmark as Nibs
- Erana James as Curly
- Adarsh Gourav as Slightly
- Jonathan Ajayi as Smee
- Kit Young as Tootles
- Diêm Camille as Siberian
- Moe Bar-El as Rashidi
- Sandra Yi Sencindiver as Yutani
- Richa Moorjani
- Karen Aldridge
- Enzo Cilenti
- Max Rinehart
- Amir Boutrous
- Victoria Masoma
- Tom Moya
- Andy Yu
- Michael Smiley
- Jamie Bisping
- Tanapol Chuksrida
The cast members without characters were not listed in the latest press release for the series, but Deadline previously reported on their casting so we know they're appearing as guest stars in the show. We caught a glimpse of Amir Boutrous and Karen Aldridge (Reghabi in Severance) during the Maginot Cat teaser for the show; it seems like their characters are members of the USCSS Maginot crew, aka the ship that will bring the Xenomorph to Earth. I wouldn't count on them lasting long once the alien gets out of containment and the ship starts careening toward Earth.
Alien: Earth images
FX has also released a slew of great new images for the series. Take a gander:
Alien: Earth teaser trailers
Last but not least, let's round up all the teaser trailers for Alien: Earth. Aside from the Maginot Cat video above, FX has released a ton of other teasers for the series. Some are cryptic and give away very little information; others parcel out a few crucial details or contain fun Easter eggs.
Alien: Earth premieres August 12 on Hulu and FX.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.