“Resident Alien” Season 1 ratings were into the stratosphere, for Syfy at least. The first Season 2 episode of the Alan Tudyk alien-comedy beamed down to Earth’s TV screens on Wednesday, but we won’t get Nielsen numbers for a few days.
But last year’s Season 1 was out of this world, with an average of 2.917 million total viewers, a Nielsen number that includes seven days of delayed viewing per episode. That made “Resident Alien” Syfy’s most-watched new drama in nearly eight years — or since the first season of “Defiance” averaged 3.224 million viewers way back in 2013.
Have a look back at the Top 10 Syfy originals seasons since the “Defiance” days via the below chart. No show since 2014, aside from “Resident Alien,” even made the list. Half of the list is comprised by “Defiance” and the “Face/Off” film-to-TV adaptation.
Over these past eight years, no other series has had multiple seasons in the Top 10. That could very well change when “Resident Alien” Season 2 enters the mix.
Based on the Dark Horse comics, Syfy’s “Resident Alien” follows a crash-landed alien named Harry (Tudyk) whose secret mission is to kill all humans. In Season 2, Harry is once again stranded on Earth where he must confront the consequences of having failed his people’s mission to destroy the human race. On his new quest to protect the people of Earth, Harry struggles to hold on to his alien identity as his human emotions grow stronger by the day.
“The entire ‘Resident Alien’ team couldn’t be more excited about the breakout success of the show,” series creator and showrunner Chris Sheridan told TheWrap. “The biggest thrill was hearing how much the audience responded to the positive message of connection and inclusion — people want something positive in their lives and we couldn’t be happier providing a show that makes people laugh and feel like they’re not alone.”
That’s true: “Resident Alien” fan, there are literally 2,916,999 others enjoying each episode with you. (Ignore Nielsen’s rounding for the sake of the sentiment.)
New episodes of “Resident Alien” air Wednesdays at 9/c on Syfy.
