After months of anticipation, Alien: Earth has landed on our screens – more specifically, on Disney+, if you’re watching in the UK. The first two episodes of the prequel to Ridley Scott's iconic 1979 Alien are available to stream now. However, you won’t be able to binge all eight, though, as the following episodes drop weekly, on Wednesdays.
The first TV series in the Alien franchise, Alien: Earth takes us to the year 2120, Neverland research island, Earth. Five corporations rule, including Prodigy, which has coined a technology that can make immortal humanoid robots with human consciousness. Wendy, the protagonist, played by Don’t Worry Darling’s Sydney Chandler, is the first of these ‘hybrids’.
When an extraterrestrial vessel crashes into Earth, Wendy and a team of soldiers go looking for signs of life and find something terrible within. No prizes for guessing what that is. Indeed, the official trailer teased some creepy, slimy lifeforms, naturally, and some of the plot points, including the fact that there could be more than just the xenomorph we know from the Alien franchise to contend with.
On the creative and production team is Noah Hawley (the screen writer behind major series including Fargo and Legion), Ridley Scott, David W. Zucker, Joseph Iberti, Dana Gonzales and Clayton Krueger, while cast members include Alex Lawther from The End of the F***ing World and Black Mirror, Kit Young from The Beautiful Game, Timothy Olyphant from Fargo and The Mandalorian), The Babadook’s Essie Davis, and Adarsh Gourav from White Tigers.
Where can I watch Alien: Earth in the UK?
While the series premiered on August 12 on FX and Hulu in the US, it launched in the UK and Ireland on 13 August on Disney+. That means you can get your teeth into the first two episodes right now. The following episodes will drop weekly, with one new episode available to watch every Wednesday.
How to sign up for Disney+
Disney+ is a paid subscription and costs £4.99 per month. Unlike Amazon and some other streaming services, there isn’t a free trial, which means you need to commit to one month of the service, but it’s worth keeping in mind that you can cancel your subscription at any time. That said, you might not want to. Disney+ is home to some of the most talked-about shows at the moment, such as The Bear and Star Wars series, Andor. There’s also a host of family favourites, such as The Simpsons and animated Disney films from Frozen to Encanto.
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