Alien's first TV series, Alien: Earth season 1, is out now on FX and Hulu. The newest installment in the franchise and the first TV show to revive the famous sci-fi movie saga premiered on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, with back-to-back episodes.Alien: Earth season 1 takes place in 2120, which is two years before the events in the first Alien movie, which takes place in 2122. In that sense, the new FX series serves as a direct prequel to Ridley Scott's original film, giving fans a look at uncharted waters in terms of storyline. It also means that there's very little homework needed about the Alien franchise to start watching the series.Alien: Earth is now on FX and Hulu (Image via FXnetworks/Instagram)In this new addition to the franchise, created by Noah Hawley, the story of alien invasion happens down on Earth, specifically in a Southeast Asian region, starting with a spaceship crash-landing on the planet and setting forth deadly extraterrestrial creatures on Earth.Where does Alien: Earth season 1 fall in the franchise's timeline?The Alien movies span decades in real time, from 1979 to 2025, and centuries in the Alien-verse. And while creator Noah Hawley admittedly said that they didn't particularly calendar it out when making Earth, per CNN, the franchise's first foray into television fits right into the saga's timeline.The show's two-episode premiere provides the perfect chance to map out where it falls into the Alien timeline, which is two years before the original movie. It falls alongside two other prequels, as seen in the list of the franchise's movies and new TV show in chronological Alien universe order below.Prometheus - year 2093 (released in 2012)Alien: Covenant - year 2104 (released in 2017Alien: Earth - year 2120 (released in 2025)Alien - year 2122 (released in 1979)Alien: Romulus - year 2142 (released in 2024)Aliens - year 2179 (released in 1986)Alien 3 - year 2179 (released in 1992)Alien: Resurrection - year 2381 (released in 1997)What is Alien: Earth season 1 all about?FX's Alien: Earth season 1 explores the storied franchise in a way and in a world that was never explored before: Earth. And while it happens in the same universe as the Alien movies, the show stands on its own and is not particularly connected to any of the films.It brings the action down to Earth, starting with a "mysterious deep space research vessel" landing on Earth, according to the show's synopsis. In the series, the planet is governed by five corporations and has become a place where humans exist alongside cyborgs and synthetics, aka robots with AI.As the corporate era searches for immortality, a corporation creates hybrids, which are humanoid robots with human consciousness, with the first prototype named Wendy. She, along with other hybrid prototypes, flexes their capabilities on a rescue mission. However, once it becomes clear that the mysterious vessel contained fearsome outer-space creatures, the deadly hunt begins.Alien: Earth season 1 is not just a story of alien invasion and survival from deadly extraterrestrial creatures. It juggles various themes like mega corporations controlling the planet, humanity's existence and place in the universe, and the theory of infinite lifespan paired with gnarly body horror that Alien movies are famous for.Catch new episodes of Alien: Earth season 1 will air on FX and stream on Hulu every week on Tuesdays. Episodes are also available for streaming on Disney+ for those outside of the US.