Alien invasion shows scratch a very specific itch. The thrill of watching your everyday life get hijacked by something bigger, stranger, and way out of your control? It’s crazy. The shows are part paranoia, part spectacle, and part survival fantasy. And that combination has kept the subgenre alive for decades now.
The classics are burned into pop culture. The X-Files made UFOs feel like they could be lurking just beyond the next streetlight. Falling Skies leaned into gritty, post-apocalyptic drama with families trying to hold it together while the world fell apart. And Resident Alien (a certified modern classic) infused comedy into the genre like never before. These are shows everyone knows, the ones that shaped how we imagine aliens swooping in to mess with our planet.
But not every alien invasion story got the same love and attention. Some aired in odd time slots, got overshadowed, or fizzled out before they could build a following. They may not have had blockbuster budgets or household-name stars, but they had the wildest ideas and memorable moments that deserve a second look.
‘Colony’ (2016 – 2018)
A near-future Los Angeles is under occupation by mysterious extraterrestrial “Hosts.” The city is walled off, drones patrol the skies, and humans have enforced strict control. At the center of Colony is Will Bowman, a former FBI agent with no choice but to work with the occupation to protect his family, while his wife Katie secretly joins the resistance.
Set in a reality where trust is scarce and freedom feels out of reach, the series is all about making choices that carry heavy consequences. Josh Holloway and Sarah Wayne Callies bring real weight to the push-and-pull between family and ideology. The Hosts remain mysterious, their technology both terrifying and fascinating, but the intrigue and the alien presence always looms overhead.
‘Hard Time on Planet Earth’ (1989 – 1990)
Hard Time on Planet Earth, a short-lived CBS series, followed Jesse, a battle-hardened alien soldier exiled to Earth as punishment for his violent past. Stripped of his powers and accompanied by a floating robotic companion named Control, Jesse is forced to learn humility by living among humans.
Each episode drops him into ordinary situations like jobs, friendships, and conflicts, and we witness how his blunt, militaristic instincts clash with everyday life. Balancing fish‑out‑of‑water comedy with a subtle undercurrent of redemption, the show finds Jesse slowly discovering empathy while dodging government agents who suspect his origins. Martin Kove, best known for The Karate Kid, plays the lead, and the mix of humor, action, and sentiment makes it a distinct addition to invasion narratives.
‘Invasion’ (2005 – 2006)
Set in a small Florida town battered by a hurricane, Invasion unfolds as a slow-burning mystery of sorts. Along with the storm, something alien arrived and infiltrated the waters, quietly altering the townspeople. Sheriff Tom Underlay, played by William Fichtner, seems to know more than he lets on, while Russell Varon (Eddie Cibrian) tries to protect his family as neighbors begin to change in unsettling ways.
The show builds tension through atmosphere rather than spectacle, and by turning swamps and lakes into ominous backdrops for a creepy takeover. Instead of flashy battles, Invasion leans into dread and layers each episode with suspicion. Though it lasted only one season, critics praised the ambition and the way it uses natural disaster as a cover for alien infiltration, which feels both clever and unsettling.
‘Defiance’ (2013 – 2015)
Syfy’s Defiance imagines a near-future Earth that is reshaped by alien terraforming after decades of war with the Votans, a collective of extraterrestrial races. Set in Defiance, a town built on the ruins of St. Louis, where humans and aliens try to coexist regardless of constant threats and fragile alliances, it follows Nolan, a weary former soldier, and his adopted Irathient daughter Irisa, as they navigate politics, crime, and conflict.
Blending frontier drama with sprawling world-building, the show stands out because of how ambitious it is. It creates a society where every race has distinct customs and tensions, complete with languages and technology. The relationship between Nolan and Irisa gives it emotional depth, while the ensemble clash fleshes out the rest of the imaginative setting. Overall, it reimagines the invasion genre by showing what happens after the war ends.
‘People of Earth’ (2016 – 2017)
A comedy-drama created by David Jenkins, People of Earth follows journalist Ozzie Graham as he investigates a support group for alien abductees in a small town. His perception quickly shifts when he realizes that the members’ stories may be true. The group includes quirky personalities, each with their own abduction experiences, and the aliens themselves are shown with humor.
Cleverly combining workplace comedy, character arcs, and a slow-burn conspiracy about aliens. People on Earth thrives on both absurdity and sincerity. Wyatt Cenac’s performance anchors the cast, and the aliens are portrayed with personality rather than menace, which makes them oddly relatable. It only ran for two seasons, but it carved out a niche as one of the most endearing takes on alien contact and paved the way for modern shows like Resident Alien to shine.
‘BrainDead’ (2016)
Set in Washington, D.C., BrainDead follows Laurel Healy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a documentary filmmaker, who takes a job in her brother’s congressional office and discovers that politicians are being infected by alien bugs. These parasites crawl into people’s brains, eat half, and leave them oddly robotic, extreme, and obsessed with partisan conflict.
BrainDead essentially turns Capitol Hill into ground zero for a bizarre extraterrestrial takeover and delivers a strange mix of government dysfunction and sci-fi horror. Winstead’s performance is incredible, and Tony Shalhoub stands out as a hilariously infected senator. The bugs themselves are both ugly and smart, which is a metaphor for polarization that feels biting but never heavy-handed. It’s rare to see an alien invasion framed through bureaucracy, but BrainDead makes it possible.
‘V’ (2009 – 2011)
ABC’s version of this 1980s classic introduces the Visitors, sleek aliens led by Anna, who arrive promising peace and technological wonders. Beneath their polished exterior, they hide reptilian forms and a plan to dominate humanity. FBI agent Erica Evans gets a whiff of their plans and joins a resistance movement, leaving the other conflicted characters to wrestle with faith and survival.
The strength of V lies in its modern setting and compelling cast. Morena Baccarin’s Anna is mesmerizing as the calm yet ruthless leader whose speeches feel unsettling but inspiring. On the other hand, Elizabeth Mitchell balances maternal instincts with leadership. Moreover, the tension between the Visitors’ seductive promises and the growing realization of their sinister agenda also raises questions about who can truly be trusted. It faces uneven reception, but V is a gripping and underappreciated gem that deserves a much wider audience.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
