The *Alien* series has long been a source of terror, but every frightening Xenomorph encounter has a positive twist: at least it’s not happening on Earth! (Except for the *Alien vs. Predator* movies, of course.)

Yet, FX’s forthcoming *Alien: Earth* completely eliminates that positive twist, delving into the consequences of Xenomorphs arriving on Earth. The brief response: nothing favorable!

Conceived by Noah Hawley (*Fargo*), this prequel series kicks off when a Weyland-Yutani deep space research ship crashes in Earth’s Prodigy City, named after the Prodigy Corporation, a competitor of Weyland-Yutani. A spaceship crashing into a significant city is already a disaster, but it escalates to “yikes, the planet is doomed” once it becomes clear the vessel was transporting not one, not two, but five dangerous alien entities from the farthest corners of space. Among these is the Xenomorph, accompanied by new beings certain to haunt your dreams.

While the crash represents a catastrophe for the entire planet, Prodigy CEO Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) views it as a chance for financial gain. He intends to seize control of whatever Weyland-Yutani discovered, prompting him to dispatch a team of soldiers to explore the wreckage.

However, these soldiers are not ordinary humans. They are hybrids: humanoid robots infused with the consciousness of terminally ill children. This is different from *Alien*’s synthetics, which possess artificial consciousness in addition to a robotic form.

As the soldiers, commanded by Wendy (Sydney Chandler), approach the downed USCSS Maginot, the stage is set for a monumental clash between aliens and synthetics. For the sake of Earth, let’s hope the synthetics emerge victorious.

Produced by *Alien* director Ridley Scott, *Alien: Earth* also features Timothy Olyphant, Alex Lawther, Babou Ceesay, Adrian Edmondson, David Rysdahl, Essie Davis, Lily Newmark, Erana James, Adarsh Gourav, Jonathan Ajayi, Kit Young, Diêm Camille, Moe Bar-El, and Sanda Yi Sencindiver.

*Alien: Earth* debuts Aug. 12 at 8 p.m. ET on Hulu and FX.