Alien: Earth Release Time — Full Global Schedule Now Confirmed
In space, no one can hear you stream — but FX and Hulu are making sure you know exactly when to tune in.
Alien: Earth, the first-ever television series in the Alien franchise, premiered August 12 in the U.S., with a rollout that will carry the show into late September. Written by Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion), the eight-episode series has already debuted to rave reviews and some very opinionated fan debate.
What the series is about
Set two years before Ridley Scott's 1979 classic, Alien: Earth centers on Wendy (Sydney Chandler), a "hybrid" synthetic who leads a group of other synthetics to the crash site of the spaceship Maginot — deep in densely populated Southeast Asia. There, they and their corporate handlers uncover a threat capable of wiping out all life on Earth.
Hawley has reimagined the Alien universe for TV with what Esquire's Josh Rosenberg calls a "thrilling" and "surprisingly gruesome" approach, one that speculates on humanity's uneasy relationship with science and corporate power.
He notes, "Alien: Earth may share much of its DNA with Jurassic Park and Westworld, but there's much more material to chew on than whether characters survive."
The series stars Chandler alongside Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh, her mentor, and Alex Lawther as Hermit, a medic with a personal connection to Wendy.
U.S. release schedule (FX / Hulu)
- Episode 1 — Neverland: August 12, 2025
- Episode 2 — Mr. October: August 12, 2025
- Episode 3 — Metamorphosis: August 19, 2025
- Episode 4 — Observation: August 26, 2025
- Episode 5 — In Space, No One…: September 2, 2025
- Episode 6 — TBA: September 9, 2025
- Episode 7 — TBA: September 16, 2025
- Episode 8 — TBA: September 23, 2025
Alien: Earth release time in the U.S.: episodes air on FX at 8 p.m. ET/PT and stream on Hulu the same night.
UK release schedule (Disney+)
- Episode 1 — Neverland: August 13, 2025
- Episode 2 — Mr. October: August 13, 2025
- Episode 3 — Metamorphosis: August 20, 2025
- Episode 4 — Observation: August 27, 2025
- Episode 5 — In Space, No One…: September 3, 2025
- Episode 6 — TBA: September 10, 2025
- Episode 7 — TBA: September 17, 2025
- Episode 8 — TBA: September 24, 2025
New episodes drop every Wednesday in the UK on Disney+.
Fan reactions: praise, nitpicks, and music debates
Early viewers have been vocal online, with one Reddit user summing up the mood: "Good to hear. I have high expectations because Noah Hawley." Others point out the recent winning streak for both Alien and Predator, with Romulus last year and Predator: Badlands coming in November.
"I had kinda given up on both franchises," wrote another fan, "I'm so happy they've turned them both around."
Disney's handling of the properties surprised many. "It blows my mind that Disney… DISNEY is doing better with Alien and Predator than Fox was," one comment read.
Not all feedback has been uncritical. Several viewers flagged jarring editing choices in the opening episodes. One complaint noted "all those flashes to the creatures" and "expository footage from characters we hadn't even met yet," arguing it hurt suspense.
Another called the endings "disjointed from the tone," with one person saying the second episode's finale "straight up made me laugh… like something you made in the early 2000s as a teenager."
Where it fits in the franchise
Alien: Earth is stand-alone, but its timing in the canon — before Alien (1979) — stirs old debates among fans about overexplaining the Xenomorphs' origins.
"The more they mix humanity into the origin story," one commenter wrote, "the more the series loses its luster for me."
Another added, "It becomes much less frightening… the terror of Alien is that this random, horrifying monster is infecting the only thing you have: your ship and your crew mates."
Still, even critics of the backstory approach are watching. As one fan put it after finishing both episodes: "It's good. Not incredible… but I was hooked to watch." And with six episodes left, Hawley has room to win over skeptics — or fuel more of the internet's fiercest sci-fi debates.