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‘Something wholly new': ‘Alien: Earth' cast and creators make their Emmy case for the ‘ambitious' FX series
Why should Emmy voters pay attention to Alien: Earth?
The FX show's cast and creators dove into that question with Gold Derby ahead of Tuesday's big premiere. From its "ambitious" world-building to being "something wholly new," the television series serves as a fresh take on a classic sci-fi film franchise. It will be eligible at the 2026 Emmys.
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Alien: Earth takes place in Prodigy City in 2120 — that's two years before the events of the influential first Alien film — and focuses on the Weyland-Yutani Corporation and the race to create new android life.
The show's key creatives and talent include producer-writer-director Noah Hawley; producer David W. Zucker; and actors Sydney Chandler as Wendy, an adult woman with a child's consciousness; Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh, a synthetic who serves as Wendy's mentor; Alex Lawther as Wendy's brother, a soldier named C.J. "Hermit"; Samuel Blenkin as Boy Kavalier, a young CEO who's often seen barefoot; and Babou Ceesay as Morrow, a cyborg security officer.
Critics are calling it a "dazzlingly haunting epic" and praise Chandler's "wide-eyed and composed performance." Watch the new teaser video above, which serves as an homage to the original movie.
"It's ambitious, both on its scale and as a character drama," says Hawley, who has one Emmy win in 11 nominations for his work on Fargo. "An Alien movie is a two-hour survival story, so when you're trying to adapt that to long form storytelling, you need to shift the focus to character and theme, and make something that is involving for an audience. The creatures and the horror and the genre should be additive, but not the defining feature."
"In conception and in execution, I think the quality of craftsmanship and the attention to detail [are Emmy-worthy], both in the storytelling and in the rendering across this cast," says Zucker, a six-time Emmy nominee. "There is nothing that was happenstance, and there's nothing in this that's disposable. It's a very, very intentional series that exists on a multitude of levels — dramatically, as in entertainment, but also as something that's really provocative."
Chandler says it's "hard" to single out the specifics for Emmy voters, noting, "I remember when I finished watching all of the episodes — and I've watched anything and everything sci-fi on TV — it was something wholly new. It asked the audience questions that I think are quite interesting and important, and things to chew on in our real life. I was just in awe of this entire cast, and you have the production design, you have the costumes," she trails off. "Everyone gave 110 percent."
Olyphant echoes the notion that it was full-team effort. "There were days when the production designer, the special effects people, the DPs, the directors, and the cast were all on the set at the same time, working on a scene, and applauding one another It was so lovely," says the television veteran and three-time Emmy nominee. "Sometimes you get some of that, but not the other. To have it all working, it was very special. So, you know, let's just say across the board [is worthy of Emmys]."
Across the board, the cast praises Hawley for his vision and attention to detail in recreating the feel of Ridley Scott's original 1979 film. "I suppose what Noah does really well historically, he's done again with this," Lawther says. "He takes a really well-loved source material, as he did with Fargo and Legion, and respects the fundamental elements of that and the DNA of that thing. He has an imagination and he goes quite far with that."
Blenkin, whose character riffs on certain contemporary tech bros, is all in when it comes to Boy's barefoot aesthetic (watch the video at the bottom of this post) and general vibe. "The costume design is something that's personal to me. Suttirat Anne Larlarb absolutely committed to closely collaborating with every actor and every person, to make sure that the costumes that we had fit with our vision and our instincts with the character. I've never worked with anybody who was so closely aligned with you and your ideas."
Ceesay, meanwhile, praises the show's "across-the-board" Emmy-worthiness, including "the cinematography, the sound design, the design of the set." "I'm walking onto the set of the Maginot, and it's to a tee the set of the Nostromo. I believe they brought out the old plans for it." He also says the entire cast merits Emmy discussion. "Being on set, you knew everybody wanted to be there and were giving their absolute best," he explains.
FX is no doubt hoping Alien: Earth will follow the same awards trajectory as its historical drama series Shōgun, which won a record 18 Emmys in 2024. When we bring up that possibility, Olyphant smiles and declares, "From your lips, you know what I'm saying?"
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