'Resident Alien' crew talks Alan Tudyk’s 'slow burn' journey & graphic novel inspirations in Season 2

On the heels of the big news that SYFY's Resident Alien returns for its second season on Jan. 26, we've got more news about what to expect for Harry (Alan Tudyk) and his pals in the town of Patience, Colorado. As a refresher for Season 1, it became more clear that Harry the alien's time on Earth was changing him as he caught a case of... feelings!

A completely foreign experience for the being from space with the sole mission of destroying our planet, we can thank Asta (Sara Tomko) for giving him this confusing place to dwell within, thus delaying our demise. Now in Season 2, creator/showrunner Chris Sheridan promises that Harry's emotional bandwidth will expand even more, and with unpredictable results. 

"In Season 1, it was about Harry growing an emotional state and the ability to process emotions," Sheridan told reporters at the NBC virtual winter press day for the series. "But friendship connects him to Asta. In Season 2, he will be extending his humanity to people outside Asta. He will be learning more about empathy and other people he can maybe care about. It's a slow burn."

But Sheridan said fans won't get an emotionally complete Harry until the very end of the series, so expect baby steps to come. "We won't go too quickly because then the comedy goes away."

Also joining Sheridan for the panel were cast members Tudyk, Tomko, Alice Wetterlund (D'Arcy Bloom) and Corey Reynolds (Sheriff Mike Thompson). Asked about how Asta deals with being Harry's confidante, Tomko said it will create some stress points in her life.

"It's a lot to maybe be the only one Harry cares about when she has the world on her shoulders," the actress shared. "Because of that she pushes him out of the nest, saying, 'You gotta go out and meet people.'" But she assures that their friendship will continue to grow as she becomes his main outlet to talk about his feelings, pains, fears and questions about family. She added that all while she is still going to be trying to connect with the daughter she gave up for adoption, Jay (Kaylayla Raine). "Asta also discovers that she may need to ask for help, and she goes to D'Arcy seeking that in a way she never has before."

Sheridan added that Harry as a character is so childlike in many ways, that Asta gets to learn to be a mother as she guides him through the foreign feelings and emotions swirling in his human body. And in turn, Asta will perhaps be a better mother figure as she connects with Jay.

As for the overall narrative of Season 2, Sheridan confirmed the stories will continue to be lightly inspired by the original comic by Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse, but continue to go into very original places bespoke to the show.

"We do look to the comics, especially looking to transpose some visual framing from the graphic novels into the show," Sheridan explained. "And the first season was about the murder of the doctor, Sam, which was the story of first book and that continues into this season. But there is an episode this season where Harry and Asta go to New York City, which is inspired by one of my favorites of the comics run ["An Alien in New York"] and I thought it would be a great episode."

Resident Alien Season 2 premieres Jan. 26 on SYFY.