Resident Alien is looking as though it will continue away from Syfy if it’s renewed for a fourth season, and while this could be cause for concern, The Expanse is evidence of how the switch could be the best thing for Alan Tudyk’s zany comedy-drama. Resident Alien season 4 isn’t yet confirmed, so it’s still possible that the show may not continue. However, the ending of Resident Alien season 3 came with a huge cliffhanger, suggesting showrunner Chris Sheridan has plans for the story to continue. If so, the tale of Harry Vanderspeigle may not yet be over.
The possibility of Resident Alien switching networks ahead of the next season raises a few questions, but a show moving from Syfy and flourishing elsewhere isn’t uncharted territory. Resident Alien may not be the biggest show on TV, but it has a devoted following that would be relieved to see it return, regardless of the platform. What remains to be seen is if Resident Alien season 4 even happens, and if it does, it’s still unclear who would be responsible for its production.
While it’s possible that Resident Alien could still happen with Syfy, the rumor of a network switch suggests that a split is likely to occur. Syfy doesn’t have a huge roster of original shows in production at the moment, so it could be that Resident Alien is just one show too many for their current plans. However, Syfy falls under the umbrella of USA Network, which is owned by NBCUniversal. So, Resident Alien could take a sideways move onto another channel owned by the same company. Alternatively, the show could become a Peacock original, airing exclusively on NBC’s streaming platform.
Another possibility is that Netflix could inherit Resident Alien on a full-time basis. While all three seasons of Resident Alien are available to stream on Peacock, the first two are also on Netflix. Resident Alien seasons 1-2 were added to Netflix in February 2024, just before the third season began on Syfy. According to Columbian, Resident Alien very quickly became one of Netflix’s top performers, as the show “Instantly reached the no.1 spot in daily TV viewings.” So, it would seem that Resident Alien and Netflix are a winning combination.
So far, Syfy has produced three full seasons of Resident Alien – even if season 3 was far shorter than the previous two. If Resident Alien season 4 is picked up elsewhere, this would reflect the journey of another project that began life with Syfy. The Expanse adapts a series of books by James S.A. Corey, but Syfy only produced three seasons of the live-action adaptation before canceling the show. So, The Expanse season 3 marked the end of the project’s ties with Syfy. Thankfully, Amazon stepped in and continued to produce The Expanse for Prime Video.
Unfortunately, Prime Video doesn’t seem to be in the running to take over the production of Resident Alien, so the comparison between the two shows isn’t exact. However, the fact that two science-fiction shows were axed by the same network three seasons into the story is a compelling parallel. Resident Alien may not be following The Expanse to Amazon’s streaming platform, but it should take comfort in the fact that cancelation by Syfy needn’t be the end of the road.
Interestingly, just as Resident Alien may find a new home on Netflix, The Expanse also has a connection to the same platform. When The Expanse was being made by Syfy during the show’s earlier years, Netflix had the streaming rights before the entire production moved to Amazon. However, Resident Alien and The Expanse were never on Netflix at the same time. Resident Alien began in 2021 and only arrived on Netflix in early 2024. In 2021, The Expanse was nearing its conclusion and was already being hosted on Prime Video.
After being taken on by Amazon, The Expanse went from strength to strength as the tale of James Holden and the rest of the Rocinante’s crew continued. In fact, The Expanse ran for as many seasons on Prime Video as it did on Syfy, ending after The Expanse season 6. The show was allowed to reach a natural stopping point in line with the original book series and even spawned a prequel video game set within the same continuity as the show. Had The Expanse remained on Syfy, there’s no guarantee the franchise would have thrived as it has.
Although Resident Alien and The Expanse are both science-fiction, they have vastly different tones. However, like The Expanse, Resident Alien has also been adapted from source material. While The Expanse was reworked from a series of books, Resident Alien was originally a comic book series written by Peter Hogan. While the adaptation has made many key changes along the way, there are still plenty of untapped adventures of Harry Vanderspeigle that can be taken from the pages of Hogan’s original work. If Syfy isn’t willing to keep the show going, whoever takes on the project won’t be short of stories.
With a total of three seasons to date, Resident Alien is nearing the tipping point of when Syfy shows usually draw to a close. So, staying with Syfy could result in Resident Alien battling cancelation in another year’s time. While Syfy has an impressive back catalog of original programming, many of its shows only ever reach a maximum of five seasons – if they even get that far. For example, two of Syfy’s most popular shows, Battlestar Galactica and Farscape, both only ran for four seasons each.
Therefore, the future of Resident Alien is much more promising away from its original network, as proven by the lifespan of its other projects and the success of The Expanse in its post-Syfy era. Resident Alien has already proven it has an innate ability to change its premise, meaning the show could last far beyond its current three-season run. So, The Expanse should be used as a point of hope for Resident Alien‘s continuation beyond the show’s relationship with Syfy, as the latter deserves the same chance to organically wrap up its story as the former had.
Source: Columbian