Critic Reviews

Andor for Alien, Hawley’s series is a rare prequel that serves to enrich its source material, breathing new life into a once-tired franchise. This is the Alien resurrection we’ve long been waiting for.

[Noah Hawley] excels at taking existing IP and contorting it in new ways to reveal what really sets those universes apart. He does that once more in Alien: Earth. .... I very much dug the incredible performances of Alien: Earth‘s ensemble cast. .... The cinematography is lush, the production design sumptuous, and the kills are horrifying.

The Alien movies set the standard for suspenseful science fiction laced with classic monster-movie horror. Earth, created by Fargo‘s brilliant Noah Hawley, honors that tradition with imagination, intelligence, impressively epic style, and a devilish taste for graphically gruesome ick that recalls John Carpenter‘s iconic 1982 The Thing.

“Alien: Earth” is the most satisfying entry in the franchise in a long, long time — and one of the best television shows this year.

He [Noah Hawley] takes the essence of three art forms—the film world of one of the biggest sci-fi franchises of all time, the structure of episodic television, and even the literary foundation of, believe it or not, Peter Pan—and makes something that feels like nothing else on television.

Noah Hawley reawakens our fears, imagination, terror, and awe. And thanks to an outstanding cast and crew taking his vision to the next level, it blows most contenders to the spacesuit throne right out the airlock.

It’s one of the best shows of the year.

He [Noah Hawley] has, in other words, done a remarkable job of retaining the look and atmosphere of a sci-fi classic while taking the story in a different direction – a mash-up that makes Alien: Earth feel like the best sort of homecoming.

What ultimately separates Alien: Earth from other intelligent sci-fi is, as ever, more simple: the queasy primal horror of those drooling, repugnant creatures. Nasty? Very much so. But this is also frequently terrific.

It is Hawley’s astute attention to detail and desire to construct an intricate story that distinguish and make “Alien: Earth” a big step up in quality for the “Alien” series overall. It’s certainly one of the best series I’ve seen this year, and better than the majority of studio blockbusters this summer in theaters.