Alien: Earth is taking the right step in the direction no other movie took, explained in depth

Alien: Earth is the first TV series of the Alien Franchise, released on Hulu on 12th August 2025. While the show has released only three episodes, it is already taking the right step in the direction no other film of the franchise has taken.

The television series also happens to be the first project of the franchise to be set on Earth, and this time, the show finally has the time to focus on more than just the horror of the situation and survival. While the films have been a success since Alien (1979), the television series is establishing more themes and plotlines, which will help it tell the broader story.

How Alien: Earth is different from the films

The usual problem with most scientific fiction projects, especially films, is how much they are focused on the theme of survival and violence, which are correlated, given the premise of such shows. But a scientific fiction seems incomplete without well-established characters, a setting with a history, and other aspects that tell us about the show's setting, like society, politics, human nature, etc.

Alien: Earth is finally doing that. Due to the show being set on Earth, it has another advantage: the ability to show multiple locations with various events happening simultaneously. Through the show, we gain insight into what was happening in various parts of the Earth, such as Prodigy's Neverland Island, where they conduct their research, or the USCSS Maginot crash.

Besides, while the films of the franchise were great in their own way, they couldn't establish characters the way the show does. In just three episodes, we have understood who Marcy, Wendy, and Joe are, Kirsh's dislike of humans, and why Boy Kavalier will eventually become the hated character he eventually becomes. Viewers did not get this from the films. The very few characters explored in depth, other than Ellen Ripley, were Rain and Andy, whom we see in Alien: Romulus, and David, whom we see in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.

Alien: Earth also tells us what exactly was going on before the Xenomorphs crashed into a tower in Prodigy's New Siam. Five corporations rule the Earth, and the reason a team is sent to rescue the extraterrestrial beings and test them is because Boy Kavalier wants to acquire them. The existence of five powerful corporations, competitive scientific research, cyborgs, hybrids, and synthetics is a clear representation of the times. Power and the thirst for more power have brought danger in the disguise of innovation and discovery.

The show is slowly building characters, their feelings, and struggles while showing us how people in power will always need more, even at the cost of losing it all. We know how dangerous the Xenomorphs are, but them being loose on Earth is new, which means a whole new kind of horror is probably awaiting us in future episodes.

The first three episodes of Alien: Earth are streaming on Hulu, and the fourth episode comes out on 29th August 2025.

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Edited by Debanjana