When it comes to great sci-fi TV shows, there is a plethora of subjects to focus on. An enduring, eerie, and captivating one is the exploration of life outside of the known universe. Aliens and science fiction go hand in hand, and over the years the entertainment industry has brought some truly fantastic creatures to the small screen.
Whether they are benevolent or malevolent, aliens have been some of the most commanding characters in sci-fi programming. Some entities are able to communicate with the humans they interact with, opening up cerebral dialogues that plumb the depths of intellectual discourse. Others merely snarl and drool. Either way, when it comes to having some excellent extraterrestrials on screen, these TV shows know what they’re doing.
‘Alien: Earth’ (2025–Present)
There are so many creepy, slimy, and disturbing creatures featured in Alien: Earth that it is difficult to know where to begin. The series builds upon the franchise established by the feature films and includes one of the most recognizable aliens ever, the Xenomorph. Alien: Earth doubles down on the dread and introduces an entire host (pun intended) of new predatory and parasitic lifeforms just itching to overtake organic life on Earth.
However, in Alien: Earth, organic life is not what it used to be. In the series, humanity has been perfecting the manufacture of artificial bodies, including cyborgs, synthetics, and hybrids. Alien: Earth has several imaginative and out-of-the-ordinary alien designs, bringing some entirely new and unnerving concepts to the genre. While many sci-fi series rely on a humanoid shape to base their aliens on, Alien: Earth thinks outside the box and uses everything from flies to eyeballs. Alien: Earth does credit to the raison d’être of the first movies and gives audiences some truly dreadful creatures to haunt their nightmares.
‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ (1987–1994)
It had been 18 years since viewers had seen live actors don Starfleet uniforms and boldly go onto TV screens when Star Trek: The Next Generation debuted. A Star Trek TV series for a new era, the series embodied the mission of the original show and explored some profound and meaningful topics. Star Trek: TNG was decades ahead of its time, and the philosophical debates visited in the series are still remarkably relevant today.
Nothing was off the table for Star Trek: The Next Generation, and episode themes included everything from racism to artificial intelligence to gender conformity and more. One of the principal ways the show achieved this was having the main characters interact with various alien cultures. By using predominantly humanoid aliens that could communicate easily with the crew, the series was able to focus on more esoteric matters.
One of the most intriguing and malicious entities the crew of the Enterprise encounters is Q (John de Lancie). Although he assumes a human form to interact with the officers, he is an extradimensional being with tremendous power to alter reality. Q’s sordid manipulations try to test Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) several times in the series. He gets sick pleasure in mentally dissecting the human psyche and is a formidable foe in the canon. It is Q who makes the Borg aware of the Enterprise’s presence, setting off a chain of events that would change the series and the greater Star Trek mythos forever. From Q to the Borg to the fascinating Tamarian race in the episode “Darmok,” who only communicate by referencing their own civilization’s folklore, Star Trek: The Next Generation has given the world some of the best aliens out there.
‘Resident Alien’ (2021–2025)
Resident Alien is a cozy dramedy starring Alan Tudyk as an alien who crashes his ship on Earth. In order to blend in, he assumes the identity of the local doctor, Harry Vanderspeigle. As Harry bonds with Asta Twelvetrees (Sara Tomko), he finds it increasingly difficult to complete his mission to destroy the planet. The ensemble setting and small town vibe make it an alien show like no other. As Collider’s Anthony Crislip notes, “By the end of the series, Patience feels like a real place, like Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls or Parks and Rec‘s Pawnee […].”
Resident Alien excels on many fronts, including writing, representation, and a phenomenally talented cast. Another area where the series feels fresh and interesting is with its species design. Though there are nods to classic alien tropes like “the greys,” there are also large bird races, octopus-like critters, and Harry’s true form, which feels like a nod to sci-fi classics like This Island Earth. Resident Alien and Tudyk’s performance took opportunities to be novel, unpredictable, and exciting, and it is one of the funniest sci-fi comedies ever.
‘Farscape’ (1999–2003)
Farscape takes alien life to a further dimension in that the ship in which the crew travels is alive. The ship is sentient, has a name (Moya), and sometimes has a will of its own. Moya is not the only fascinating species in Farscape; there are several characters, including the main cast of Pilot (Lani John Tupu) and Dominar Rygel XVI (Jonathan Hardy), that are distinctly different from the rest. Brought to life by The Jim Henson Company, these characters are played by animatronics and puppetry and still feel lifelike and believable.
Farscape has many alien races to choose from, and humans like the space/time castaway John Crichton (Ben Browder) are the minority. The main characters of Farscape comprise a motley crew, not an organized and trained team, and watching their impulsive personalities clash and gel together is highly rewarding. Farscape has strong story arcs throughout the series, and the heroes and villains are fascinating to observe.
‘The X-Files’ (1993–2018)
One of the most influential sci-fi TV series of all time, The X-Files used a procedural format to deliver gripping monster-of-the-week episodes. Skeptic Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is paired with eccentric Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) at the FBI, and they are tasked with investigating the more supernatural and inexplicable cases. The X-Files ranged from fantasy lore to straight-up sci-fi in its creature features, but every situation provided intense drama and high stakes.
The X-Files is the best supplier of bogeymen ever. Every week, the creators found a new way to scare the daylight out of their viewers. From alien-human hybrids to murderous imps, every fan has their favorite spook and episode that deprived them of sleep for a little while. The special effects on The X-Files are more than competent, and the use of practical effects and lighting helped sell the horror. The X-Files is exemplary at alien depiction and remains a staple in the genre.
‘Doctor Who’ (1963–2025)
The longest-running sci-fi series in history has given the world some truly intriguing aliens. Doctor Who follows an alien themselves, a persona known as The Doctor, who comes from a race known as Time Lords. Together with a companion, this space and time traveler visits various planets and moments in time, sometimes to observe, and sometimes to intervene.
Doctor Who has a brilliant plot device embedded at its core in that The Doctor can “regenerate.” This has allowed the series to continue for decades, with each Doctor transforming into a new actor each time the previous one has departed from the show. In the ultimate “the show must go on,” Doctor Who rarely breaks stride, and it has made an indelible impact on television history. As The Doctor encounters each alien race, they not only affect the aliens, but the aliens affect them in some way. Several have incited him to rage, some have inspired him to love, and others have taught him lessons about himself or a profound concept he wanted to grasp.
The concept creation in Doctor Who has evolved greatly over the decades. From the Daleks, who resemble moving vacuum cleaners, to Lady Cassandra (Zoë Wanamaker), who is a stretched piece of skin, the show has exercised unlimited creativity when it comes to character design. While the budget of the series has undoubtedly increased over its tenure, Doctor Who is at its best when it feels organic and homemade. When the aliens look like something you could easily build a cosplay for at home, the fandom becomes infinitely more accessible and endearing. Although poor casting choices and divisive writing decisions have recently resulted in a massive drop in viewership and cancelation, Doctor Who will inevitably do what it has always done: regenerate itself and come back all the stronger in the future.
‘Lost in Space’ (2018–2021)
At only three seasons long, Lost in Space is a bingeworthy series that will keep viewers hooked from the very beginning. When Netflix updated the IP for a new generation, the large robotic character that bonds with young Will Robinson (Maxwell Jenkins) got a remake as well. A blend of a living alien race and cyborg technology, The Robot (Brian Steele) is rendered incredibly well and looks vastly more interesting than its predecessor.
From its towering height to its muscular build, The Robot is a formidable presence on screen. Then, in a unique design antithesis, it evokes childlike wonder with its face, which is a moving, swirling screen that looks like a universe contained within. The Robot tries to understand its identity later in the series and reason whether it is more of a machine or an organic lifeform. It can also shapeshift to some degree. When The Robot first meets Will, it looks far more alien with several limbs and a serpentine neck, but after bonding with Will, The Robot takes on a more human form to mimic its new friend. Delivering an emotive performance with no facial features and limited dialogue is a challenge, but Lost in Space delivers, and The Robot is a dynamic character in the series.
‘The Mandalorian’ (2019–2023)
It is safe to say that the TV series that has had the ultimate and unprecedented response to alien design this century is The Mandalorian. A tiny sidekick that was a simple plot in a new Star Wars series on Disney+ became a global sensation that took fandom by storm. When The Mandalorian was released right before the holiday season in November 2019, no one at Disney had predicted how big a sensation the little green alien called Grogu would be. A spectacular role reversal happened that Christmas season, and for several weeks the only Grogu (nicknamed “Baby Yoda” by fans) merchandise that could be found was from independent makers, not large toy companies or conglomerates.
This organic origin to Grogu solidified his status as one of the most beloved sci-fi TV characters ever, human, alien, or otherwise. He belonged to the fans, and they took him into their lives with arms open wide. With his adorably large ears, infantile eyes, and tiny frame, he charmed millions of viewers all over the world and is recognizable outside the series itself. Disney did not see the incredible adoration for this little dynamo coming, and the response he generated continues to pour out with love and affection. The dynamic writing, direction, and acting gave the series a soul, but Grogu gave it a heart.
The Mandalorian
- Release Date
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2019 – 2023-00-00
- Network
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Disney+
- Directors
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Rick Famuyiwa, Bryce Dallas Howard, Dave Filoni, Carl Weathers, Peyton Reed, Deborah Chow, Jon Favreau, Peter Ramsey, Robert Rodriguez, Taika Waititi, Lee Isaac Chung
