FX/HuluAlien: Earth might be set 100 years in the future, but each episode ends with a rock song from the recent past, so here’s what you ‘re hearing when the credits roll.
Alien: Earth is a new TV series from Fargo and Legion showrunner Noah Hawley that does something very different with the franchise by setting events on our planet, and potentially bleeding into the 1979 movie.
There’s also several fresh breeds of alien in the series, plus new beings in the shape of cyborgs and hybrids.
Another departure comes via the music that plays at the end of each episode, as rather than go for spooky score, Hawley has chosen hard rock to close out the drama.
Alien: Earth soundtrack, including artists and songs
FX/HuluThe success of the early Alien movies is down to a combination of script, direction, casting, acting, production design, and of course, creature design. But the score was also an important component.
Jerry Goldmsith’s atmospheric Alien music is one of the most effective and influential scores in film history, while James Horner’s more bombastic work on Aliens perfectly upped the ante.
The Alien: Earth score is by Jeff Russo, with whom Hawley collaborated on both Fargo and Legion. Russo has sci-fi experience having scored multiple Star Trek projects, and we compared his work here to The Brutalist in our Alien: Earth review.
But when each episodes ends, there’s a shock to the system via music from the 20th century blasting over the credits. So the following is a list of songs that play during each instalment, as well as how every episode concludes.
Episode 1: ‘Neverland’
- ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’ by Nina Simone
- ‘Killer Crane’ by TV on the Radio
- ‘No Dey Tire’ by Lord Afrixana
- ‘The Mob Rules’ by Black Sabbath (end credits)
Episode 2: ‘Mr October’
- ‘Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive’ by Aalien: Earth cast
- ‘Stinkfist’ by Tool (end credits)
We’ll update this list as and when new episodes of Alien: Earth drop on Hulu in the US and Disney+ in the UK.
Noah Hawley on why each episode ends with a rock song
Hulu/DisneyNoah Halwey has spoken about his decision to end each episode with a big rock song, explaining that it happened organically.
“I didn’t go into the filming planning to do that, but as I got into the editorial process, each episode kind of ends on a cliffhanger,” Hawley told Decider. “What I’m looking for is to make an arena show, right? It’s something that feels bigger than than a small theater. It’s an arena show. And so, you know, I started to put these songs in at the end, these big classic metal or hard rock songs.”
Hawley adds: “You know, it’s a feeling, right? I’m just trying to create a big feeling in the audience as the episodes end and you realize that you have to wait another week to see it, but it’s a celebration of what you’ve watched before and throwing you into the future.”
For more sci-fi action, here’s our ranking of every Alien movie, plus how Predator: Badlands connects to Alien and the latest with Alien vs Predator 3.
