Major USA Network Show Canceled

Harry Vanderspeigle’s misadventures in Patience, Colorado are coming to an end.

The Alan Tudyk-led sci-fi comedy series Resident Alien has been canceled at USA Network after just four seasons. The upcoming Season 4 finale on Friday, Aug. 8 will now serve as the show’s series finale, series creator Chris Sheridan confirmed Thursday.

“I knew going into it that this was likely going to be our final season. Creatively, that was exciting because I knew we could spend the time wrapping up some storylines and driving toward an ending,” he told TV Insider. “I’m so proud of how good Season 4 is and especially proud that we were able to finish as strongly as we did, with a finale that is probably my favorite episode of the series.”

Originally debuting on Syfy in 2021 before moving to USA Network for Season 4, which currently holds a 100% critics’ score and 88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, Resident Alien stars Tudyk as an alien who crash lands in the small Colorado town of Patience while on a mission to while out humanity. But after attempting to blend in with the town’s human population by assuming the identity of the town doctor, Harry Vanderspeigle, he soon begins to struggle with the moral dilemma of his secret mission on Earth.

Although Sheridan didn’t reveal the reason for the show’s cancellation, Resident Alien seems to be the latest victim of declining cable viewership. The series received a viewership boost when the first three seasons were made available to stream on Netflix, and while Deadline reported that the series was “a modest ratings performer” in its current season, it had limited traction on NBCUniversal’s streamer Peacock, where episodes are available to stream a week after their cable debut. It’s possible that Season 4’s viewership numbers simply weren’t high enough for USA Network to hand out a renewal.

The cancellation news comes as Resident Alien prepares to head to Ballroom 20 at San Diego Comic-Con Friday. In the hours leading up to the cast’s SDCC appearance, fans of the show have expressed their disappointment online, with the show’s Instagram account filling with messages from heartbroken and upset fans. Reacting to the cancellation, one person wrote, “How could they cancel this show? It’s one of the best on television with an amazing cast. Cannot thank you all enough.” Another person said they were “gutted the show has been cancelled. EST SHOW EVER. I’m devastated. Best cast. Best writers.” Several expressed hope that the show will be picked up either by another network or streamer, though it’s unclear if there are plans to shop Resident Alien elsewhere.

Along with Tudyk, Resident Alien also stars Sara Tomko, Corey Reynolds, Alice Wetterlund, Levi Fiehler, Elizabeth Bowen, Judah Prehn, and Meredith Garretson.

With its cancellation, three episodes of Resident Alien remain. New episodes air Fridays on USA, with new episodes available to stream on Peacock a week later. The Season 4 finale, now the series finale, is scheduled to air Friday, Aug. 8.