Resident Alien Cast Reflect on Four Seasons After Surprising Cancellation

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Resident Alien originally premiered on Syfy in 2021, and although the show managed to become a hit with a 98% Rotten Tomatoes score (becoming one of the highest-rated sci-fi shows of the 21st century on Rotten Tomatoes), getting there wasn’t easy. Reflecting on the past four years, Tudyk, who led the series as an alien who crash-lands on Earth during a mission to wipe out humankind, said it “has been a whirlwind,” referring to the numerous obstacles Resident Alien had to overcome time and time again just to make it to the screen.

Tomko, who starred throughout all four seasons as Astra Twelvetrees, recalled, “The truth is, every season, I don’t think any of us were really able to relax fully into, like, this is a definite, because we got cut off by COVID, and then we weren’t sure we were coming back, and then we came back, ut then quarantine hours made it last longer. So then we were sure that was probably it, and then in Season 3, we were like, I don’t know. This is really it, and then the writer’s strike happened, so we couldn’t air because of the strike. And so, Season 4, I think, by the time we got there, we were like, ‘Can we enjoy this and relax into it?’ And then Chris said, ‘No.’”

Resident Alien‘s Cast Hoped for Season 5

According to Tomko, the cast held out hope that just like with past seasons, Resident Alien Season 5 would be ordered. Tomko explained that SDCC “was the area where we thought, ‘maybe this is the little bit of hope that we have on our side.’” Reynolds, who appeared as Sheriff Mike Thompson, explained that there were “a lot of elements that I thought would help ensure us moving forward and having a little more longevity,” including Resident Alien’s success on Netflix, which he said “felt like it was going to be a nice lightning rod for the show.”

However, any hope that Resident Alien would be renewed for a fifth season was squashed on August 8th when Sheridan announced the series was canceled. In a statement to TV Insider, Sheridan said he “knew going into it that this was likely going to be our final season” and expressed his gratitude that they were “able to finish as strongly as we did, with a finale that is probably my favorite episode of the series.”

While Resident Alien has officially wrapped its four-season run, Sheridan told ComicBook that “four seasons is longevity” in the current TV era. Tudyk added, “also, these days, you need to have been canceled to have an existing IP so that you have something to make.”

All four seasons of Resident Alien are available to stream on Peacock. How do you feel about Resident Alien‘s cancelation? Let us know in the comments.