‘Alien: Earth’ Breaks Massive Franchise Record, Outperforming Even the Original Films
Alien: Earth is making waves in the sci-fi world. The new live-action series, part of the legendary Alien franchise, premiered on FX, FX on Hulu, and Disney+ internationally on August 12, 2025.
Critics are loving it, giving the show a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes, which makes it the highest-rated project in the entire Alien series. That score even beats James Cameron’s Aliens, which has 94%, and the original 1979 Alien, also at 94%, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
This is a big deal for fans of the franchise. Over the years, the Alien series has seen highs and lows. Movies like Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection didn’t get great reviews, scoring 44% and 55% respectively. Prometheus earned 73%, Alien: Covenant had 65%, Alien: Romulus reached 80%, while crossover films like Alien vs. Predator and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem scored much lower, at 21% and 12%. In comparison, Alien: Earth’s strong start is a huge win for the series, showing that the franchise can still deliver excitement and quality storytelling.
FX’s Alien: Earth. OFFICIAL TRAILER. We were safer in space. Premieres August 12 on @fxnetworks | Hulu and with #HuluOnDisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/rCGXwI44LZ
— Hulu (@hulu) June 5, 2025
Rotten Tomatoes praised the show, saying, “Stylistically bold and scary as hell, Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth transplants the Xenomorph mythos into the television medium with its cinematic grandeur intact while staking out a unique identity of its own.” Metacritic also highlighted the series’ success, giving it a weighted average score of 84 out of 100 based on 118 critics, a rating labeled as “universal acclaim.”
Created by Noah Hawley, Alien: Earth is a prequel set in 2120, two years before the events of the original Alien. The story follows the space vessel Maginot, which crash-lands on Earth. A young woman and a small team of tactical soldiers soon discover a terrifying threat that could change the planet forever. The cast includes Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, Adarsh Gourav, and Timothy Olyphant.
Early reactions show that the series is delivering what fans hoped for. The mix of suspense, horror, and cinematic quality is being praised, with many noting that the iconic Xenomorphs and tense atmosphere of the original films have been successfully brought to the small screen.
Some responses have even joked that the excitement is “so loud it could be heard in space,” as noted by Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.
With this level of praise, Alien: Earth is quickly becoming one of the best-received entries in the franchise. It honors the legacy of the original films while giving fans something new and thrilling. The series is expected to keep drawing attention as more viewers tune in to see one of sci-fi horror’s most iconic creatures in action again.
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!