Entertainment
The Comedy Sci-Fi Series That Took Over Netflix And Wowed Rotten Tomatoes
By Jacob VanGundy
| Published
Resident Alien, starring Alan Tudyk, is a Syfy original comedy that was released in 2021 and didn’t make much of a splash on release. However, with a pristine Rotten Tomatoes score indicating critical approval and a spot in the top shows when it arrived on Netflix, the series found a new lease on life. Real fans of the show have been saying all along that Resident Alien is great, but putting it on Netflix helped grow that audience.
Based on a Dark Horse comic by Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse, in theory, the show had a pre-existing fanbase to build off of, albeit a small one.
Part comedy, part sci-fi, part procedural, and part mystery thriller, Resident Alien has something for everyone with a straightforward plot that gradually builds on itself. It follows a marooned Alien, who was sent to end all life on Earth but instead crash-landed in rural Colorado forcing him to take on a human disguise and gradually learn about humans.
Most shows about aliens living among humans lean on one joke and hope it holds. Resident Alien doesn’t do that. It uses the joke to get in the door, then quietly builds something smarter and more observant than it has any right to be.
Disguised as Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle, a man he knows nothing about, he ends up becoming the small town’s only doctor. Things get weirder for the new Harry from there, throwing him into an increasingly complicated web of social dynamics and mysteries.
Harry doesn’t misunderstand humans in cute ways; he misunderstands them in ways that expose how arbitrary many of our social rules actually are. Watching him struggle with basic concepts like politeness, grief, or compassion is funny because it’s accurate. A lot of human behavior only makes sense if you grew up inside it.
The show thrives on restraint. It resists the urge to constantly reassure the audience. It lets scenes run a little long. It allows discomfort. Sometimes the joke is simply that Harry says the wrong thing and no one laughs. Sometimes the scene ends without a joke at all.
Resident Alien never forgets that its central character is dangerous. This isn’t a cuddly outsider learning to love Earth. Harry is capable of mass murder, and the show keeps that fact in play. His growing attachment to humans creates tension because of what we know he could do to them. .
The series is an ideal showcase for Alyn Tudyk’s comedic talents, giving him a unique character with no understanding of human interaction, creating plenty of opportunities for slapstick comedy and genuine emotion. It’s the kind of role he was born to play.
Resident Alien doesn’t treat the town around Harry as background noise. They aren’t just there to react to his weirdness. They have problems that existed before he arrived and would continue if he left. Because of that, much of Resident Alien’s success also comes from a stellar supporting cast built up by the show, a great mix of established actors and lesser-known names. Those include Sara Tompko, who is often the straight man to Tudyk’s slapstick, Corey Reynolds as a butt of the joke sheriff, and Alice Weterlund as a bartender unknowingly pining for an alien.
Resident Alien flew under the radar on release, creating a dedicated but small fan base on the Syfy channel, hampered by not being available on any of the major streaming services. While it initially failed to reach the popular zeitgeist, it was an immediate critical darling, garnering a 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes after the first two seasons.
Now that it’s finally on Netflix it has found a larger audience, briefly making its way onto Netflix’s top ten shows when it first arrived on the platform. The show’s audience was always there; it just needed the right platform to find it.
Resident Alien is worth your time. It trusts the audience and uses science fiction the way it’s supposed to be used, as a tool to look at ordinary life from an uncomfortable angle.
Entertainment
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Entertainment
Big Salad’s Birthday Sale
This week only, we’re offering 20% off annual subscriptions to Big Salad, our weekly newsletter (and the #1 fashion/beauty publication on Substack). For $4/month, you will get every issue for a year — packed with fun finds, life realizations, and essays on sex, dating, love, marriage, divorce, parenting, and friendship — plus access to our deep archives.
Last Friday, I wrote about a dating realization I had that changed everything (gift link, free for all). The comments were truly incredible, and I felt really moved by the ability to share relationship (and life) highs and lows with women who really get it. We really are all in this together.
Here are a few more issues you may enjoy…
On sex, dating, relationships, and friendship:
The genius advice my therapist gave me when my marriage ended.
What it felt like to have sex for the first time post-divorce.
How do you know if it’s time to get divorced?
Four ways I’ve learned to deepen friendships.
The book that profoundly changed my friend’s sex life.
Reader question: “I want to talk dirty in bed, but I’m nervous.”
Nine habits that are making my 40s my favorite decade.
On fashion and beauty:
How to style a shirt like a Copenhagen girl.
7 things we spotted people wearing in Paris (plus, two magic Paris itineraries).
13 beauty products we always finish.
Do I get botox or filler? Readers asked, and I answered. 🙂
At age 46, I finally figured out my hair.
Gemma’s #1 drugstore beauty find.
Our 13 favorite swimsuits.
And, most of all, amazing life insights from women we love:
Ashley C. Ford on why poverty makes it hard to figure out what you like.
Anne Helen Petersen’s book-filled island cottage.
Three people share how they changed their careers. Then, three more women share!
Brooke Barker’s great conversation starter.
Hunter Harris tells us what movies and shows to watch right now.
Abbey Nova’s jaw-dropping garden makeover.
Natasha Pickowicz wants you to throw yourself a party.
My sister’s parenting hack that I can’t stop thinking about.
Alison Piepmeyer’s amazing wallpaper before-and-after photos.
15 incredible books to read.
Nine ways Kate Baer is coming out to play in her 40s.
Here’s the discount link for 20% off annual subscriptions, and here’s the Big Salad homepage, if you’d like to check it out. We would love to have you, and thank you so much for your support and readership. Joannaxo
P.S. We also offer 50 comped subscriptions per month for those who’d like to read Big Salad but aren’t in a place to pay for it at the moment. Just email newsletter@cupofjo.com to get on the list. Thank you!
Entertainment
Brûléed Yogurt? Yes, Please!
Did you know you can brûlée, like, anything? I always forget brûléeing is an option, because it’s one of those fancy cooking processes that’s too much fuss for home cooking. The thing is? It’s really not. All you need is a broiler and the courage to turn it on. (I suppose you might also need a fairly clean oven, or you’ll set off your smoke alarms — but I do that once a month anyway.) And once you’re in the swing of it, it’s truly so much fun.
“I love brûléeing the most simple things,” says our friend Jerrelle Guy, whose gorgeous cookbook, We Fancy, comes out this week. “Warm oatmeal, fresh bananas, grapefruit halves, the peanut butter on my peanut-butter toast. And whenever I brûlée my yogurt, it becomes decadent. I think of it as a no-bake crème brûlée.” For breakfast! Or whenever!
This week, we’re excited to share this fun, creamy, tangy new recipe from Jerelle’s book. True to the title, this is indeed a fancy dish, but Jerrelle is the kind of recipe writer who knows that fancy doesn’t need to be complicated (this is the woman who judged our boxed brownie taste test, after all). When she says you can do this — in less than 30 minutes, no less — you can trust her. And doesn’t a warm, citrus brûlée sound so good right now? Definitely worth braving the broiler. Let’s crack a window and do this thing.
Brûléed Lemon Yogurt With Berries
From We Fancy, by Jerrelle Guy
Serves 2-4
For the berry pico
1/2 cup blueberries and strawberries (fresh or frozen), diced
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp olive oil
Kosher salt
For the yogurt crème brûlée
1 cup Greek yogurt (full-fat) or labneh
Turbinado sugar or granulated sugar, for sprinkling
Make the pico: In a small bowl, combine the berries, thyme, lemon juice, olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Set aside to allow the berries some time to release their juices.
Make the yogurt: Divide the yogurt among four 4-ounce ramekins (or two 8-ounce ramekins), or small heat-proof bowls, and spread in a smooth, even layer. Wipe any splattered edges of the ramekins with a clean kitchen cloth. (If making ahead, you can cover the yogurt and refrigerate for up to three days, until ready to eat. You can also leave it overnight to make the yogurt firmer.)
Brûlée the yogurt: Sprinkle sugar over the tops of the yogurt in a thin, even layer. If using a broiler, set an oven rack just beneath the heating element and turn the broiler on high. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and slide under the broiler. You can also use a blow torch, moving in slow, circular motions over the yogurt. Burn the sugar until it beads, then caramelizes and melts into puddles. Remove from the oven (if using), and allow the yogurt to rest for a few minutes until the sugar hardens. Top with the pico and serve.
Note: If you want to make it even fancier, Jerrelle suggests mixing the yogurt with 2-3 tbsp of lemon curd and 1/2 tsp of pure vanilla extract, before transferring to the ramekins, to add a pleasant tang.
Thank you so much, Jerrelle! We love the new book!
P.S. Molly Yeh’s classic egg-in-a-hole, and seven delicious muffin recipes.
(Photos from Jerrelle Guy. Excerpted from We Fancy. Copyright © 2026 by Jerrelle Guy. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.)
See results from over 25 AI models side by side with this game-changing tool
Big Salad’s Birthday Sale
