Key Takeaways

• Sigourney Weaver praises Alien: Earth for its broader themes beyond the original franchise.
• The series explores the future of our world in 100 years, focusing on significant societal issues.
• Critics note the high production values and potential for Alien: Earth to become a major TV series.
• Early reviews suggest it may lack the human element that made Fargo compelling.

Sigourney Weaver is the Queen of the Alien franchise, but what does she think of Alien: Earth? The latest installment of the sci-fi horror franchise has made its way to the small screen courtesy of Fargo creator Noah Hawley. The logline reads: “When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat.“

Collider caught up with Weaver at the Toronto International Film Festival (where she’s promoting Dust Bunny) and asked her for a recommendation of what she’s been watching lately. Without missing a beat, Weaver replied, “Alien: Earth.“

“What I admire about it is it’s not Alien-centric,” she said. “It is about what world we will be living in in 100 years. I think the scope of it is so much bigger than an Alien project. Fascinating. Much more about our world, what’s going to be happening to it, what’s going to be important, the role of greed. It’s just exploded some of the themes that have always been part of the Alien series, and I think it’s beautifully cast and beautifully done. I can’t believe it’s television, frankly.“

In his review of the pilot episode, our own Chris Bumbray said Alien: Earth could be “the most ambitious TV series of the year. Featuring top-notch production values and a budget that would likely put most other shows to shame, FX is clearly trying to turn the Alien franchise into a high-end, tentpole series—something that can do for them what Game of Thrones and The Last of Us did for HBO.” Bumbray wasn’t immediately won over, but the potential is definitely there. “Suffice to say, Alien: Earth is off to a promising start—but it’s too early to tell if it can sustain itself,” he wrote. “Hawley’s a terrific showrunner, but this is a big swing. So far, it’s lacking the human core that made Fargo so watchable, instead focusing on world-building and scale. It’s not as immediately gripping as the first episode of The Last of Us, but I’m definitely curious to see where it goes from here.” You can check out the rest of his review right here.