Who are the cyborgs, hybrids, and synths in Alien: Earth season 1? Details explored

Noah Hawley's Alien: Earth season 1 introduces the Alien universe in a different light: extraterrestrial beings crashing on the planet and against three sci-fi beings, created by corporations planning to conquer death and mortality. Earth is now lorded by powerful companies and their groundbreaking technologies to create various artificially intelligent beings.

Cyborgs, synthetics or synths, and hybrids are three different types of Alien: Earth season 1's new sci-fi creations living alongside humans. They are the three paths to immortality featured in the series, creations of the megacorporations that are trying to cure mortality in humans. The intro of the first episode of the series explains the difference between the three:

"In the future, the race for immortality will come in three guises: Cybernetically enhanced humans (Cyborgs). Artificially intelligent beings (Synths). Synthetic beings downloaded with human consciousness (Hybrids)."

Which of the three technologies will prevail against the deadly creatures threatening the planet will determine which corporation will rule Earth and the universe.

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What are the differences between cyborgs, synths, and hybrids in Alien: Earth season 1?

A still from the series (Image via FXnetworks/Instagram)

While, like all Alien movies, Earth revolves around a new set of threats from extraterrestrial beings, it also covers existential themes, like humans' effort to live forever. The latter plays out in the three different creations introduced in the series: cyborgs, synths, and hybrids.

Cyborgs are cybernetically enhanced humans, as in humans with mechanical upgrades to improve their abilities and extend their lives. Morrow, played by Babou Ceesay, the head of security onboard the USCSS Maginot that crash-landed on Earth, is a cyborg. Like Morrow, cyborgs still have their human identity except for several mechanical additions, like Morrow's Swiss Army Knife-like arms.

Synths, short for synthetics, unlike cyborgs that are partly human, are entirely man-made beings. They may look and act like humans, but they are robots designed to mimic humans and have artificial intelligence for a brain. Timothy Olyphant plays the main synth in Alien: Earth season 1, Kirsh, who works at Prodigy, one of the megacorporations in the series.

Lastly, the FX series introduces the hybrids, which are synthetic beings crossed with humans. They are Prodigy's latest tech experiment towards immortality and will be the core focus in Alien: Earth season 1. Like synths, hybrids have synthetic bodies. But unlike synth's AI brain, hybrids are implanted with human consciousness.

A still from the series (Image via FXnetworks/Instagram)

Wendy, played by Sydney Chandler, is the first of her kind of hybrids in the series. She's the first prototype from the experiment, which downloaded the consciousness of terminally ill children into synthetic bodies. With human consciousness, Wendy still has the emotions and memories of the little girl she was before the procedure, but now has super-human strength and speed.

While synths have previously appeared in Alien movies, like Ash in the original movie and David in Prometheus, hybrids are a new concept introduced in the TV series, raising even deeper questions about humanity and mortality. And per the intro in the first episode, these three characters will be the core focus of the series beyond humans and aliens.

In Alien: Earth season 1, which takes place in 2120, five mega corporations battle for control over will dominate Earth and space while also battling extraterrestrial creatures that crash-landed on the planet. These companies bet on their own immortality technology—cyborg, synth, or hybrid—to secure their place at the top of the pack.

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Alien: Earth season 1 premiered on FX and Hulu on August 12, 2025, with two episodes. A new episode will be released on the platforms simultaneously every week on Tuesdays. New episodes will also be available for streaming on Disney+ internationally.