Alien has been one of the more wobbly franchises in cinema history. Everyone agrees that the first two movies are pretty much masterful, but everything since then has been more up and down than a Xenomorph trapped in an elevator. The small screen is the next target, though, as an Alien TV series release date is on the horizon.
And there’s real pedigree behind this take on Alien. Noah Hawley, who has had TV success with both Fargo and Legion, is writing and directing the new show, which slots into the Alien timeline as a prequel. Hawley has shown himself as capable of making some of the best TV series around, so we have high hopes that Alien could become one of the best sci-fi series on air today. Here’s what we know so far.
Alien TV series release date speculation
Noah Hawley said the Alien TV series is due to premiere in the first half of 2025. He wants to start filming at the beginning of 2024.
This has been a long time in the making. After the box office struggles of Alien: Covenant in 2017, we got word that the franchise was pivoting to TV, with multiple stories in the pipeline. One was the animated series Alien: Isolation, while the other was a live-action series shepherded by franchise head honcho Ridley Scott.
Disney announced in 2020 that the latter project was going ahead, with Noah Hawley in charge as writer and director, and Scott in an executive producer role.
Development has been spotty since then, with Hawley hard at work on his TV shows as well as a Star Trek movie that has since been canceled. The 2023 Writers Strike and parallel Actors Strike have also slowed things down since FX Network boss John Landgraf confirmed in April 2023 that the project was being actively moved forward with an eye on filming in 2023.
Hawley told The Wrap in November 2023 that the Alien TV series would be his first priority after the strikes. All involved have their eye on starting filming as early as possible in 2024, which would allow the series to be ready and on screens by early 2025.
We’re keeping our fingers crossed for some Xenomorph goodness as soon as possible.
Who’s in the Alien TV series cast?
Sydney Chandler will lead the Alien TV series cast as an unusual meta-human with the consciousness of a child, but in an adult’s body.
Chandler was recently a standout performer in the Sex Pistols mini-series Pistol, so we have high hopes for what she can do with what sounds like a fascinating and unconventional role. The good news is that she also has some very big names around her.
Andor cast member Alex Lawther is in the mix as a soldier, while Essie Davis – who terrified us all in one of the best horror movies of recent years, The Babadook – will portray a mysterious character named Dame Silvia.
We also know that Timothy Olyphany will play a synthetic character called Kirsh who acts as a mentor to Chandler’s Wendy, continuing the rich tradition of androids and synths in the Alien franchise.
Confirmed Alien TV series cast list:
- Sydney Chandler as Wendy
- Alex Lawther as CJ
- Samuel Blenkin as Boy Kavalier
- Essie Davis as Dame Silvia
- Adarsh Gourav as Slightly
- Kit Young as Tootles
- Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh
- David Rysdahl
What will happen in the Alien TV series?
The Alien TV series will be a prequel to the first movie, but will be a completely stand-alone story that doesn’t feature other characters from the franchise.
Specific details are being kept under wraps other than that, but we’re quietly relieved that Hawley’s series will swerve the world of Ripley and the events of the Prometheus/Covenant corner of the timeline. Alien has so much potential for intrigue and innovation, so it has always been strange to see it so constrained to one part of that world.
We expect that the unique status of Sydney Chandler’s character will be a key element of the plot. She’s a hybrid human with a child’s consciousness in an adult’s body, which is a very bizarre way to experience the world. And although Big might be one of the best Tom Hanks movies, we’re a long way from the pure comedy territory of that premise here. We don’t expect to see Chandler dancing along a massive piano at any point, but we’re prepared to be surprised on that front.
Her dynamic with Olyphant looks likely to be at the core of everything here as they each grapple with the nature of humanity from their different perspectives. This could be a far more introspective and thoughtful Alien movie than the outright haunted house horror of the first one or the balls-to-the-wall action of Aliens.
Is there a trailer for the Alien TV series?
They haven’t even started filming the Alien TV series yet, so there’s no trailer just yet.
But if you’re anything like us, your day can always be improved by some Xenomorph action. So here’s a clip of one of the character’s first appearances in Alien, which we think is right up there with the best movies of all time. And this might be controversial, but we prefer it to Aliens. There, we said it.
How to watch the Alien TV series
The Alien TV series will air on FX in the US and will be available to stream on Hulu.
As this is a production within the Disney empire, we’d imagine that those of you in the UK will be able to watch the series new on Disney Plus. That’s where recent FX series like Welcome to Wrexham have aired. However, it’s not always as simple as that. Hawley’s other FX series, Fargo, is on Amazon Prime Video in the UK. We’ll keep you posted.
In the meantime, we’ve got you covered on how to watch the Alien movies in order to prepare for the new show. Weirdly, they’re all scattered across streaming services. In the US, you can find Alien, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection on Hulu, while Aliens is on Max. As for the pair of new movies, Prometheus is on Netflix and Alien: Covenant is on DirecTV.
If you’re a glutton for punishment and you’re minded to watch the Alien v Predator films too, then the first one is on Hulu and Requiem is on Starz.
How many episodes will be in the Alien TV series?
We expect there to be somewhere between eight and 12 episodes in the Alien TV series, as this is very much a prestige show for FX.
Hawley has always had 10 or 11 episode runs for Fargo, and we expect that Alien will be similar. However, given the enhanced post-production and on-set challenges of making sci-fi over drama, it might well be the case that all involved decide on a shorter run.
That’s everything we know about the Alien TV series so far. We’ve also looked ahead to the new Alien movie release date for more on the future of this franchise. Or, for classic Xenomorph action, check out our Aliens review and look beyond the flight path of the Nostromo for more of the best alien movies ever made.
Elsewhere, learn about the Alien anime series we might never see and find out our picks for the best science fiction movies ever made. Prepare to boldly go.