History Series / ResidentAlien

The show premiered in 2021 and has aired two seasons, with a shortened third currently on order.

Initially planned to premiere in Summer 2020, however production was stalled due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic and the first episode aired on January 27, 2021 instead. A link for a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIlo-avH9rU teaser]] can be found here and a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26wdrAj8DmE seven-minute clip]] was released at [=NYC=] Comic-Con 2020. On March 17, 2021, two weeks before the show's first season finale, Syfy [[https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/syfy-renews-resident-alien-for-season-2 announced]] that they had renewed it for a second season. The second season released in two parts, with the first part running from January 26 to March 16, 2022 and the second part running from August 10 to September 28, 2022. The series has been renewed for a third season. This season was originally announced for 12 episodes, but the order was later cut to 8.

* BodyToJewel: When the alien, "Goliath," died, his body crystalized in a standing position, making him resemble a statue.

* DeadPersonConversation: After mixing sleeping pills and alcohol [[note]] which his friends rightfully call him out on [[/note]], Harry passes out and argues with the corpse of the real Harry Vanderspiegle. [[spoiler: When he decides to disintegrate Dr. Vanderspiegle's corpse with his doomsday device, the body talks to him again.]]

** The opening of episode 4 showing Harry dreaming of a nice day out on the town...then [[spoiler: activating his device which vaporizes everyone around him and showing what he's planning to do for the entire planet.]]

Initially planned to premiere in Summer 2020, however production was stalled due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic and the first episode aired on January 27, 2021 instead. A link for a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIlo-avH9rU teaser]] can be found here and a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26wdrAj8DmE seven-minute clip]] was released at [=NYC=] Comic-Con 2020. On March 17, 2021, two weeks before the show's first season finale, Syfy [[https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/syfy-renews-resident-alien-for-season-2 announced]] that they had renewed it for a second season. The second season released in two parts, with the first part running from January 26 to March 16, 2022 and the second part running from August 10 to September 28, 2022.

* AssholeVictim: The real Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle, [[spoiler:who Alien!Harry [[KillAndReplace killed and took over his life.]] He was a contract killer who's responsible for [[PlotTriggeringDeath the murder of the original town doctor.]] He was also a negligent father with a string of failed marriages, the fact he was such a {{Jerkass}} is the main reason very few people who were close to him in life are around long enough to notice his drastic change in personality.]]

* ArtisticLicensePharmacology: [[spoiler:D'Arcy's]] painkiller addition shows symptoms more consistent with a stimulant. Opioids in particular tend to present more as somnolence and central nervous system depression.

* ArtisticLicensePharmacology: [[D'Arcy's]] painkiller addition shows symptoms more consistent with a stimulant. Opioids in particular tend to present more as somnolence and central nervous system depression.

* AsHimself: [[Series/AncientAliens Giorgio Tsoukalos]] is one of the panelists at a UFO convention that Harry and Asta visit, [[AdamWesting shamelessly pushing his book]], and seeming to actually get a lot of details about Harry's galaxy right.

* TheGreys: [[TheGhost While they haven't appeared on the show (yet)]], Harry does mention them by name multiple times, and considers them to be insidious assholes with an ass fetish. [[spoiler:From what is seen of the aftermath of their activities on Earth, Harry may have a point about them being assholes. Jury is still out on the fetish though.]]
* GreaterScopeVillain: TheGreys. They have yet to make an on-screen appearance, but their actions play a crucial role in [[spoiler: episode 9, as around the early 1990s they kidnapped multiple humans (for unexplained reasons) including an unborn baby right out of his mother's womb and so the vengeful father Peter Bach stalked and attacked Harry wrongly believing Harry to be responsible let alone ''aware'' of this infant kidnapping.]]

** Harry's backup job as Patience's therapist is dropped after "Homesick."
** The idea of Harry having a job at all is dropped after "The Green Glow," even though that episode strongly implies that he needs one. "An Alien in New York" reveals that he discovered a "money bag" inside the cabin filled with numerous stacks of $100 bills, apparently a pay-off to the human Harry Vanderspeigle for having killed Sam Hodges. But this still doesn't explain why he was so worried about getting a job, unless the money bag was a later discovery.

Initially planned to premiere in Summer 2020, however production was stalled due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic and the first episode aired on January 27, 2021 instead. A link for a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIlo-avH9rU teaser]] can be found here and a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26wdrAj8DmE seven-minute clip]] was released at [=NYC=] Comic-Con 2020. On March 17, 2021, two weeks before the show's first season finale, Syfy [[https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/syfy-renews-resident-alien-for-season-2 announced]] that they had renewed it for a second season. The second season is set to release in two parts, with the first part running from January 26 to March 16, 2022 and the second part releasing on a currently unspecified date in summer 2022.

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Judy. To the audience, she seems adorable and it's unclear why D'Arcy and the rest of the women reject her, but that's how it is.

* "The Alien Within" reveals the truth about Goliath - [[spoiler:he's actually Harry from a distant future where the Greys wiped out all humans.]]

* WorldOfJerkass: Played with; while most of the main characters have unpleasant edges initially, there's reasoning for it shown as the series goes along. Asta's initial snappishness with Harry is shown to be down to his replacing her ParentalSubstitute Sam, D'Arcy's being a complete prick to her patrons seems to be her trying to impress Harry (who she has a crush on), Max's increasing weirdness is understandable considering Harry tried to kill him (twice), Mayor Hawthorne's incompetence is because he's a well-meaning ExtremeDoormat, and Deputy Liv is more tragic than anything else. Even the sheriff's dickishness is eventually explained as having a DarkAndTroubledPast.

* DeliveryNotDesired: "The Ghost of Bobby Smallwood" reveals that [[spoiler: Asta has written letters for each of Jay's birthday only to keep those in a box.]]

* GreenAesop: The reason Harry was sent on a KillAllHumans mission was that humans were changing the planet, but not in a good way.

* KillAndReplace: The real Harry Vanderspeigle dies in the pilot so the alien Harry can have a human form.

* AliensSpeakingEnglish: Just like in the comic, Harry knows English, only instead of being an experienced speaker, the TV version learned it in a matter of months by binge-watching ''Law and Order'.