Alien: Earth is off to a strong, scary start, with Prodigy’s crew encountering all sorts of weird and icky creatures – and things could get worse in Episode 3.
The Alien franchise has set foot on Earth before. The end of Resurrection gave us a glimpse of the planet in the 24th century (spoiler, things do not go well for us), and Prometheus had some brief scenes in Scotland.
However, the new series, developed by Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion), is the first time the series has brought the Xenomorph threat home – alongside other aliens, like giant ticks and an ‘eye midge.’
After Episode 2’s cliffhanger, Joe’s life hangs in the balance in Alien: Earth Episode 3, so here’s when it drops.
Alien: Earth Episode 3 will air on FX and drop on Hulu and Disney Plus at 5pm PT/8pm ET on August 19.
For UK viewers and those outside the US, that means you’ll either need to stay up late or get up early and watch it to avoid spoilers. Find out when it’ll be available to stream in other time zones below:
- 9pm Brazil
- 1am UK
- 2am Central European Summer Time
- 3am Eastern European Summer Time
- 5:30am India
- 10am Australia
- 12pm New Zealand
How many episodes of Alien: Earth are there?
There are eight episodes of Alien: Earth. The first two were released August 12, and the rest will be released individually and weekly thereafter.
As for whether or not Season 2 is on the table, it looks likely. Speaking to Variety in 2024, FX chief John Landgraf teased: “We’re pretty bullish on Alien: Earth and we’ve told [Hawley] that assuming, as we hope, Alien: Earth is a returning television series, we want him to focus on at least writing two seasons of it before returning to a possible sixth season of Fargo.”
Hawley has also described Season 1 as “proof of concept… and if it works commercially, then Season 2 is about building a model upon which we can envision making a Season 3, 4, 5.”
What happened in Alien: Earth Episodes 1 and 2?
In the first two episodes, the USS Maginot (a deep-space research vessel controlled by Weyland-Yutani) crash-lands on Earth after specimens got loose and caused carnage on board. Morrow, a cyborg, declares the crew dead and straps himself into a secure part of the ship as a Xenomorph (which has a funny name) tries to kill him, but he emerges from the wreckage alive.
Specifically, the ship lands in the beating heart of Prodigy City, so the company’s “Boy Wonder” sent Wendy and “the Lost Boys” to carry out a search and rescue mission.
Quick recap: Wendy, formerly Marcy, is Prodigy’s first hybrid. Her consciousness was transferred from her younger self into a synthetic body, and she has extraordinary abilities. For example, she’s able to hack into almost anything in the city.
Despite the procedure, she still remembers her brother Joe (and watching Ice Age together), who’s now a medic serving under Prodigy. He’s assigned to the Maginot, so she convinces CEO Boy Kavalier to let her go find him and assist with their recovery efforts, alongside Kirsh (Boy’s chief scientist, who’s also a synthetic) and the other hybrids.
As they explore the ship, things get intense rather quickly. Two soldiers are killed by the ticks, Joe is repeatedly pursued by a Xenomorph, and after Morrow manages to capture it, it gets loose again… and spares him.
By the end of Episode 2, there are two major developments: Kirsh and co. find three Xenomorph eggs, and Joe is dragged away by the Xenomorph, with Wendy set to chase after them in Episode 3.
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