AfterResident Alienwas officially canceled, its creator and stars are speaking out about the ending. Having premiered in 2021, the show is an adaptation of Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse’s comic series. It stars Alan Tudyk as alien invader Harry Vanderspeigle, Sara Tomko as Asta Twelvetrees, Alice Wetterlund as D’arcy Bloom, and more.Resident Alienseason 4will be the final installment of the series.
Unfortunately, while the Syfy show managed to earnincredible reviews from critics, it never captured widespread audience attention. NBCUniversal repeatedly considered ending the show and eventually pulled the plug on July 25, meaning that Harry’s malicious mission is coming to an abrupt end. Fortunately, the cast and crew planned ahead.
Creator Chris Sheridan and star Sara Tomko (Asta Twelvetrees) spoke withScreenRantin an interview atSan Diego Comic-Conand discussed the cancellation. Sheridan explained that the cast and crew were “prepared for this”, even if Tomko believes that it is “surreal to work on something for so long” with the threat of cancellation waiting. Check out their quotes below:
Chris Sheridan: It wasn’t brand new news for us. We sort of saw it coming a long time ago. I mean, a year ago, when we started the season, I was pretty sure that this is how it would go down. So, in trying to figure out what we were doing creatively for season four, I made a decision, back then, to finish telling the story. I didn’t want to end up in a situation where we had cliffhangers and it was left untold and then we got canceled after that. So, we sort of took it upon ourselves to end it our own way.
And [we knew] that you never know, something else could happen, but we were prepared for this, certainly. And I told everybody about it too. I told them that there’s a good chance this is the last season, so let’s all enjoy this season and appreciate everything.
Sara Tomko: It is quite surreal to work on something for so long [where] then, every season, we’ve been sort of told, “They might cancel it,” and then we just keep going. I think at some point, maybe, we were like, “This is the boy who cried ‘wolf.’ I don’t know if this is ever going to end. What do we want?”
Then, we got to a place where we were like, “We just want to end on our terms and we want it to feel good for us and for the fans.” And so to finally have that phone call–[as] Chris said, he called us individually–it felt very surreal. I almost feel like I’m not quite sure I’ll process it until January when we’re not shooting.
What This Means For Resident Alien
Foresight Saved The Series' Story
While the non-renewal may have come as a surprise to audiences, the creators were well aware that it was a possibility. With low viewership totals on both traditional cable and streaming,NBCUniversalcouldno longer justify producing the show. There are only two episodes left, and then the series will officially be over.
BecauseResident Alien’s season 4 cancellationwas about ratings, the creators could certainly see it coming, and they prepared for it well. The final episode, “The End Is Here”, will wrap up the story as well as it can, even despite having just 10 episodes to conclude every arc.
Resident Evilseason 3 had just eight episodes, while season 4 will match season 1’s 10-episode total.
There will beno need to campaign for future seasonsof the show, nor for a streaming service to pull the rights away from NBCUniversal. Unlike other cancellations, which spark unending backlash, this can feel like a true and well-planned finale. It may have been canceled, but Sheridan and Tomko were careful to ensure that audiences would not be impacted.
Our Take On Resident Alien’s Ending
It Will Be Difficult To Say Goodbye
Resident Alienis likely one of the most unique shows on TV right now, and it ischallenging to say goodbye to the series. While it may not be drawing as much viewership as SYFY and USA Network were hoping for, it is a cult hit that will only become more successful as the years drag on.
The show always maintained an impressive reputation with critics, asScreenRant’s Ben GibbonreviewedResident Alienseason 4and found that it “continues to deliver big laughs and high stakes”, and other outlets echoed that response. When a show is drawing so much love, cancellation is a painful mistake.
The show is not yet over, as the final episode will be coming on August 8, but it is comforting to know that the creators have a definitive ending prepared. While it would be better to seeResident Aliencontinue for as long as the producers wanted, having the chance to offer a proper goodbye is something of a relief.
Resident Alien
Cast
A television adaptation of the comic book series, Resident Alien is a sci-fi comedy that stars Alan Tudyk as an alien who crashes on Earth with one mission - destroy humanity to save the planet. When Tudyk’s character takes the identity of a doctor, he arrives at a small town and begins to act the role preparing his plan. As time passes, he develops human emotions against his will - but his plans are further complicated when he meets the son of the mayor - who can see his actual appearance.
