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SYFY WIRE Resident Alien

Earth to Tudyk! SYFY renews Resident Alien for a second season

By Josh Weiss
Resident Alien

Good news, Earthlings! SYFY’s Resident Alien will officially return for a second season, the network confirmed Wednesday.

“With Resident Alien, everything just came together in perfect harmony — a script by Chris Sheridan that leapt off the page, a lead performance by Alan Tudyk, whose nuance between comedy and menace was pitch perfect, and a team of producers, cast and crew who were all striving to do something great,” Lisa Katz, SYFY’s president of scripted content, said in a statement. “The appeal of this show transcended the sci-fi genre in a way that enabled us to bring in a broader audience, and as the series continues we hope to encourage more and more fans to discover Harry’s very particular perspective on humans.” 

“It kinda gives away that Harry doesn’t complete his mission and destroy the human race at the end of this season, but it’s great to get another season’s worth of trying to do it!” Tudyk exclusively tells SYFY WIRE.

“I have been sent to the great beyond of joy and wonder and delight, Season 2, here we come!!!!” adds Sara Tomko (Asta Twelvetrees). “There is a lot of crying and sporadic giggling happening over here”

Resident Alien — starring Tudyk (Firefly, Rogue One) as the unforgettable titular character masquerading as town doctor Harry Vanderspeigle — was the most-watched new cable drama in the last year and SYFY’s highest-rated new drama in more than six years. The pilot alone (directed and executive-produced by Wedding Crashers’ David Dobkin) attracted over 9 million viewers across all platforms. Episode 2 saw an increase of 581,000 audience members — the biggest uptick for a cable drama launch since 2014.

The show, which follows the misadventures of a socially inept visitor from beyond the stars, is based on the Dark Horse comic of the same name by Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse. Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg of Dark Horse Entertainment, and Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank of Amblin TV serve as executive producers alongside showrunner Sheridan.

“ALL HAIL CHRIS SHERIDAN!” Levi Fiehler (Mayor Ben Hawthorne) exclaims to SYFY WIRE, reacting to the news.

"This show has no right being this good and this fun to work on," says Alice Wetterlund (D'Arcy Bloom). "I am so happy SYFY and NBCUNI are letting us continue to build this world. We will not fail them."

"Hard work pays off," says Corey Reynolds (Sheriff Mike Thompson). "Our entire production team (cast, crew, creatives, executives, marketing, PR team) worked their butts off to bring the best possible show to the people and the people responded the way we hoped they would. They dug it. I couldn’t be more proud or excited of what we’ve done and what’s to come."

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The cast also includes: Elizabeth Bowen (Deputy Liv Baker), Meredith Garretson (Kate Hawthorne), Judah Prehn (Max Hawthorne), Gary Farmer (Dan Twelvetrees), Kaylayla Raine (Jay), Alex Barima (David Logan), Mandell Maughan (Lisa Casper), Elvy (Isabelle), Jenna Lamia (Judy), and Ben Cotton (Jimmy). Terminator vet Linda Hamilton rounds out the cast as General McCallister, a military leader trying to get her hands on the alien for scientific study.

Only three episodes of Season 1 remain. Episode 8 airs on SYFY tonight at 10 p.m. ET. Episodes 9 and 10 will premiere on March 24 and 31, respectively. The first three episodes are currently available to stream on Peacock, with new episodes arriving on Fridays.