Alien: Earth has finally crash-landed into our lives after many months of leaving fans awestruck by some of the IMAX-worthy scenes being touted in the trailers. I was stoked to jump in and enjoy one of the biggest shows on the 2025 TV schedule, to the point where my eagerness wasn't hindered by a desire to catch up on each of the franchise entires I'd missed before Noah Hawley's new show arrived.
If you're like me and want to watch the new FX series, but maybe don't want to have to pre-game all nine movies ahead of time, I've got your back. (And I promise not to burst through it.) I only saw a few of the movies ahead of this one, and can confidently say it didn't impact my enjoyment, even if I may not have caught every easter egg on display. Here are some of my takeaways, as well as my level of knowledge about the franchise going in.
How Much Of The Alien Franchise I'd Watched Prior To Alien: Earth
While I've seen Alien and consider it one of the best sci-fi movies of all time, I have admittedly not been a loyalist to the franchise. I've seen Ridley Scott's classic, James Cameron's aces sequel, Prometheus, and that's it. I think I've also seen scenes from Alien vs. Predator here and there, but definitely not enough to claim I've watched the entire movie.
Even after skipping out on the highly acclaimed latest installment Alien: Romulus, I was still destined to check this show out because of creator Noah Hawley. I was a huge fan of what he achieved with FX's Marvel series Legion, also love Fargo. (Not to mention supremely disappointed that his movie with Star Trek never came to be.) My faith in his storytelling helps ease the worries of not being a franchise completist, so anyone feeling the same way is likely also going to enjoy watching Alien: Earth.
Alien: Earth Doesn't Immediately Require Tons Of Lore-knowledge To Get Into
I genuinely believe those who have watched at least a couple of Alien movies are going to be lost watching Alien: Earth. While I wouldn't go so far as to say that it should be an entry point to the Alien franchise, and I'm sure there are references that I've already missed, none of it has been so wild that it's impacted my experience.
Part of this might be due to something frequently touched on by critics in their rave reviews of the FX series. A lot of Alien: Earth is about further fleshing out the universe first established in the movies, and bringing the horror of space to Earth. At its roots, this story is centered around super-powered synths with the minds of children, and we'll learn how they are used to help one trillionaire capture and cultivate the Xenomorphs and other odd creatures we've seen so far.
The first two episodes set the table for what is on the way for the rest of the adventure, and I have to say I am all in so far. I think what I enjoyed the most so far is that the Xenomorph we've seen doesn't seem quite as invulnerable as other movies I've seen, so I'm excited to learn more about that, too.
What Would Be Helpful To Know If You're Completely In The Dark
If you're going into Alien: Earth completely blind, to which I would say at least watch the first movie ahead of this, I still think it's possible to enjoy the show. Most of what you need to know is set up in the first episode, and I think there's an unspoken acknowledgment that Xenomorphs are killing machines you never want to let out of containment or try to manipulate in any way.
Of course, who better to try and underestimate the destructive power of a Xenomorph than an eccentric rich person who feels like they're a god because of their wealth and pursuit of science? While I think Alien: Earth dives into some complex themes and moral questions pretty early on, I think the basic premise of "Dangerous Alien is bad" is enough for someone to watch this without having seen it before.
All that being said, I will add that for those who have never watched an Alien movie, it is an incredibly violent and gory franchise. Even with the practical effects used in the show, it's pretty extreme in terms of blood and not a show for the faint of heart. I would say anyone who is averse to seeing stomachs explode or people cut in half, I don't think you're going to enjoy watching Alien: Earth.
The Surprising Disney Movie You Might Want To Revisit Beforehand
One movie that will be helpful to stream ahead of Alien: Earth, if you happen to have a Disney+ subscription, is Peter Pan. I assumed the show would refer to it when watching the first trailer when the island was noted to be "Neverland," but two episodes in the show tend to lean on making references to it a lot.
It's largely baked into the plot, with the formerly sick children having their consciousness transferred to adult synth bodies. They've been likened to the "Lost Boys," and Prodigy CEO Boy Kavalier is acting as their self-appointed Peter Pan. It doesn't take a genius to see why the world's youngest trillionaire is attracted to this narrative and believes he is the hero in this story.
What becomes of Kavalier ultimately remains to be seen, though one can't help but feel he isn't especially Peter Pan-like, removing a bunch of terminally sick children from their families to heal them under the contingency that they can never return home. There's just something inherently evil about his energy in general across these first two episodes, but maybe he'll subvert expectations and turn out to be a decent guy as Season 1 continues. In any case, watching Peter Pan would probably be the most helpful thing you could brush up on ahead of this Alien: Earth.
Catch new episodes of Alien: Earth on FX on Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Catch up on the series, which feels like it has a budget up there with some of the biggest we've seen on television as of late, and I can't wait to see what's coming up in these future episodes.
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