One of the funniest shows in years just crash-landed onto Netflix.
Resident Alien, starring the always-hilarious Alan Tudyk, is a SyFy original that’s previously only been available on that channel or Peacock, and it’s never reached the massive audience it deserves.
Now that its third season is out, the first two have finally made their way to the streaming giant, and the show is already on the top 10. There’s a good reason for that—a lot of good reasons, actually:
- Alan Tudyk has been in a lot of great roles including the hilarious horror comedy Dale & Tucker vs. Evil and the cult classic Firefly. I have never seen him more funny than he is in Resident Alien. All his many gifts as a comedian—the voices, the physical humor—combine in one of the most side-splitting roles of his career. But he brings a lot of humanity to this alien role as well. I honestly wish he’d get a lot more recognition for just how brilliant his performance is here.
- The premise is simple but creates a great, often tense sci-fi comedy. I won’t spoil much here but the idea is this: An alien (Tudyk) comes to earth on a diabolical mission but he crash-lands and has to take on human form while he figures out what to do next. He finds himself in a small mountain town and as luck would have it, a young boy there can see through his disguise. He finds himself caught between his mission, the accusations of the boy, and the community he is suddenly an awkward part of. All of this leads to all kinds of great hijinx and ridiculous situations.
- But here’s the thing: The supporting cast is what gives this show its heart. Even characters you dislike at first end up showing their better side eventually. There are so many great characters and stories that this alien from outer space finds himself grudgingly a part of, and while they’re often quite funny, I also found myself deeply moved at times, even to the point of tears. (Yes, yes I laughed and I cried and all that jazz). Sara Tomko as Asta and Alice Wetterlund as D’arcy deserve special mention, but Corey Reynolds as Sheriff Mike and Judah Prehn as the boy Max are also great. And there are many others—including Linda Hamilton of Terminator fame and Terry O’Quinn from Lost. Luminaries of other shows featuring indigenous stories like Gary Farmer and Sarah Podemski (both of whom you’ll recognize from Reservation Dogs) are also here, and wonderful as always. The list goes on.
- Not only is this a very well-written show with great characters and a great alpine setting, it has a lot of mystery, suspense and twists and turns that—by the end of season 2—totally blew my mind. I haven’t started Season 3 yet since I just found out it was out, but I can’t wait to see what’s coming next. This show goes in directions you don’t see coming. It’s wild. I’m still a little worried it may have jumped the shark, but I’m certain that if it did, they’ll find a way to make the shark jumping work.
So if you’ve seen Resident Alien pop up on your Netflix feed or heard it mentioned, this is my plea to you: Watch it and figure out just what I’m talking about. If you’ve ever wanted to watch Alan Tudyk—as an alien—teach himself how to speak English by watching reruns of Law & Order, well now’s your chance. Trust me. It’s great.
Check out my weekend streaming guide right here.
