Polygon.com / 06.06.25

Resident Alien is finally leaning into science fiction, with time travel, cyborgs, and alien abductions

USA/Syfys Resident Alien started as a quirky mashup of Northern Exposure and Invader Zim, a fish-out-of-water comedy where Harry Vanderspeigle (Alan Tudyk of Firefly, Rogue One, and Andor), the new doctor in the small town of Patience, Colorado, is actually an alien who wants to take over Earth. Harrys secret was originally only known to Max Hawthorne (Judah Prehn) a kid with the rare genetic ability to see through alien disguises, who devotes himself to trying to stop Harrys plans and health-clinic worker Asta Twelvetrees (Sara Tomko), who teaches Harry the value of humanity. Though the series protagonist is an alien, the shows science fiction elements were relatively subtle in the early seasons. Harry spends as much time investigating the murder of the towns last doctor as he does trying to fix his ship and get his mission back on track. The locals write off his weirdness because theyre dealing with their own challenges: Asta confronting her abusive ex, her best friend Darcy Bloom (A...
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