Yo…
The attached My Summer Lair episode has been brewing for a long time.
Resident Alien has been one of my favourite TV shows since it premiered on January 27, 2021 on Syfy. (You can stream it on Peacock in the U.S. as well as Netflix-U.S.)
The comedy is fantastic and the sci-fi is witty. (Though I still haven’t read the Dark Horse comics it’s based on. Apparently, there’s notable differences between the comics and the TV show. That’s cool—I’ll get to it eventually.)
One of things I’m good at is curation: I enjoy beaming a spotlight on undervalued or overlooked hidden gems.
“Look at this…you need to get this into your life!” I’m all about Have you found Jesus? only I bless my flock with the salvation of remarkable pop culture.
Thus when Resident Alien debuted, I was happy to direct a bright Sammy Spotlight™ on the series. Cue: “Look at this—you need to get this into your life!”
Here’s the TV Guide description for the Syfy show:
After crash-landing in Patience, Colorado (your classic Norman Rockwell small town) an extraterrestrial sent to wipe out humanity kills a vacationing physician and assumes his identity. Oh man—suck it E.T.
The doctor is Harry Vanderspeigle, played by Alan Tudyk, who expertly balances being human and being alien…sometimes simultaneously.
This TV series is freshtastic: lots of sci-fi, lots of aliens and lots of UFOs, lots of sarcasm and lots of jokes. Anytime you can present heart and humour with an alien sent to Earth to destroy all of humanity, you’ve instantly created a warm path to my charming heart.
Since Season 1, I’ve wanted to arrange an interview with the cast. Or some of the cast. Any cast? Maybe even an extra?
But as anyone who hosts a podcast can attest…for 3 seasons the cast interviews didn’t happen. Schedules. Juggling responsibilities. Access.
Life is messy and no…this MSL episode isn’t brought to you by Tide.
Nor is this Feelings Friday either. No stress: I’m not gonna take you on my influencer-style hero’s journey or any of that online junk.
Happily, I just want to declare I finally participated in the online press junket for Season 4 of Resident Alien. (And how amazing is it hat this TV show reached Season 4?! Stranger Things will drop Season 5 in November…these are modern minor TV miracles.)
Before we deal with Season 4, enjoy this amusing recap of all the sci-fi chaos that’s unfolded over the past three seasons:
Season 4 opens with Harry and his half-human, half-alien baby, Bridget, stuck in prison on the Grey Moonbase. And it gets worse.
A shape-shifting alien called a Mantid has taken over Harry’s body on Earth, passing himself off as the real Harry Vanderspeigle. If you thought Harry was peculiar when he was taken over by an alien…Mantid-Harry is beyond weird.
During the Zoom press junket, reporters entered a breakout room with Alan Tudyk, the human face of Resident Alien.
Alan is still playing the extraterrestrial occupying human we’ve seen over 3 seasons but now he’s also playing Mantid-Harry. Alan describes Mantid-Harry as “creepy, gross and weird.” Now, there’s a Tinder bio. (I’d go obscene. Though is obscene too strong? Watch and decide for yo’self.)
Mantid is voiced by Clancy Brown (remember the prison guard from The Shawshank Redemption?) When asked about Clancy’s Mantid, Alan laughs and confirms:
“Clancy Brown is brilliant and his Mantid is disgusting.”
Patience, Colorado still has hope. Young Max has discovered this un-fun-fact so far; he knows the doctor isn’t the usual-alien and that he’s been replaced.
As all of that is shaking out, Sheriff Mike suspects a mysterious death in Patience wasn’t caused by anything…human?
Yo. Sheriff Mike is my favourite character on the show. Excellent sarcasm. Maybe not the fastest cop but dude delivers some of the best lines in the series. All of his lines are gold. Especially his back-and-forth with his long suffering deputy, Liv (portrayed by Elizabeth Bowe). (Shout to Cletus too…another dope deputy.)
Aside No. 1: Sheriff Mike’s Wisdom
Sheriff Mike: “Wait. Wait. You wash your cast iron skillet? You can’t do that! Where do you think the food’s flavor comes from?”
Deputy Liv: “The food?”
Sheriff Mike: “The skillet! What you think got more flavor? The food you cookin’ or ten years of food cooked on iron?”
Deputy Liv: “I don’t know, but now my stomach feels weird.”
Sheriff Mike: “Shit. Scrubbin’ a cast iron skillet, that’s like, that’s like washin’ your hands before you eat a sandwich. Half of what you taste on a sandwich, that’s finger flavor.”
Gold!!
Sheriff Mike is hilariously played by Corey Reynolds who kills it in Resident Alien. With a straight face, he shared with me Sheriff Mike’s philosophy (which echoes not washing your hands before eating a sandwich):
“These are landmines that any man could easily step on. Mike’s ahead of the curve on these ones.”
In the attached My Summer Lair episode. you’ll hear teases and tidbits from the cast as I ask them questions.
But more than Mantid-Harry and unwashed hands for sandwiches…it’s all happening! as Season 4 kicks off.
The supa dupa people at Syfy invited me to patriciate in the recent online press junket for this fresh and wild season.
Here’s some notable notables that didn’t make the attached MSL podcast.
🌎Oh The Humanity…
Harry is still Earth’s best hope for survival.
As we’ve seen since Season 3…he may not be on his own.
Season 4 broadens the depth of all of the distinct characters living in Patience. This is a small town where everybody knows everybody. And slowly everybody know something weird is occurring.
United by aliens are on Earth realizations and revelations the characters become a family. Secrets are bonding. Aliens are a surprise party and everyone’s invited.
Corey Reynolds (aka Sheriff Mike) affirms this shift:
“For Season 4 you have this new component that’s brought to the show where we’re all working together collectively to protect each other from something more dangerous than the threat that Harry represented.”
Against that scintillating sci-fi backdrop, Resident Alien continues to explores humanity—a vital theme that’s been a series throughline since Episode 1.
Humanity was my primary focus and the spark for my questions during the online press junket. Even in response to another reporter’s question I wanted to glean how the actors are portraying characters where “the truth is out there.”
You can’t casually learn about the existence of aliens and then go take a nap. Every major character in Resident Alien has had a personalized alien encounter. Those exploits have shaped who they are—and the humans they are becoming.
In many obvious ways, Harry is an immigrant. He arrived from a strange land, finds our cultural customs bizarre and struggles with the gross strangeness of our food. (Except for pie and pepperoni pizza.)
Crucially, Harry (our Harry) was wrong. Turns out The Greys have a passionate interest in Earth beyond anal probing. (Wonder if they flew in from the planet Uranus. #Rimshot.)
We saw this in Season 3 as The Greys attempted to terraform Earth by transforming Yellowstone National Park into a natural bomb.
In our real world of UFO sightings there are numerous popular UFO hotspots. Prime locations with lots of odd weather patterns and bright unexplained lights.
Extending from Season 3 into Season 4 Patience, Colorado seems to be a designated UFO hotspot. (A conspicuous thread to follow in Season 4.)
And much like in real life, the alien activity is bigger than one small town.
The way Season 3 ended and the way Season 4 opens, confirms viewers will discover why the TV show is called Resident Alien. That title is no longer a Harry exclusive. Lots of aliens have taken up residence on Earth.
At the press junket, I spoke with the show’s creator Chris Sheridan about one of the show’s most unusual traits: its surprising empathy during alien abduction scenes.
For a TV series packed with lots of sarcasm and lots of absurdist humour, Resident Alien treats the abductions of Ben and Kate with surprising authenticity?
I asked Chris: Why?
Why was it vital to depict these disturbing experiences with care?
(When I pointed out with the kind treatment of those moments Resident Alien goes from ALF to X-Files, Alan playful protested: “Am I ALF?” Hah. My bad.)
You can hear Chris’ fascinating response on the attached MSL episode.
Of all the characters, Ben and Kate’s alien experience is the most traumatic.
In Season 3, Mayor, Ben (Levi Fiehler) and his wife, Kate (Meredith Garretson) painfully realize that the disturbing visions they’ve been having are, actually, memories.
Kate has been abducted repeatedly by The Greys for the past several months. Ben has been abducted practically his whole (slightly dumb) life.
And the most disturbing admission?
The villainous Greys have even abducted the couple’s baby from Kate’s womb. They’re keeping it for research.
Now, Kate’s determined to retrieve her baby. For Meredith I asked who is "Killer Kate?" Meredith’s response offers a tantalizing Season 4 preview.
"Killer Kate" appears briefly in the Season 4 trailer:
Thankfully (more like thankfully?) Killer Kate has help from D’arcy (or as Harry calls her…the red-headed one.).
During the press junket, Alice Wetterlund (aka D’arcy) suggested:
“D’arcy is almost using this [Kate’s alien abducted] kind of as a prop for feeling legitimized as an adult.”
Having babies, growing up, maturing—these are phenomenal human experiences. .
Humanity is a fitting sentiment for this season where the tagline is:
“He’s one of us. More or less.”
🗣️Say What…
What else did I learn from the Resident Alien: Season 4 press junket?
Elizabeth Bowen (aka Deputy Liv):
“In Season 4 you will get to see Liv do things that you’ve never seen her do before.”
Corey Reynolds (aka Sherriff Mike):
“Mike is gonna partner with an unexpected partner over the course of this season.”
Alan Tudyk (aka Harry):
“ That’s the thing…Harry is starting to miss Earth as home.”
Oh and last thing.
For my Corey Reynolds interview I reference a question asked by Kyle Wilson from LamplightReview.com based in Phoenix.
You can check out his entire Resident Alien interview on YouTube.
Season 4 kicks off on June 6, 2025 on Syfy & USA Network in America at 11 p.m. (Episodes will appear on Peacock one week after they air i.e. Season 4 Episode 1 will be on Peacock on Friday, June 13, 2025.)
In Canada it’s on CTV Sci-Fi same date/time. (Episodes will appear on Crave the day after it’s broadcast.)
This season is 10 episodes.
The Resident Alien 4th Season Finale is August 8, 2025.
After that…will we get Season 5? Or will the series be beamed into the grand Mothership in the sky?
For now…enjoy Season 4.
Yo mamaship is so fat, she can only play Seek…
Sammy Younan
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Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair podcast: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.
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