Give ‘Alien: Earth’ an Emmy for This One Specific Thing

I’m not a betting person, so I’m not going to waste your time speculating about which Emmy nominations FX’s Alien: Earth might nab next year. With only three episodes out and a fourth dropping today, I haven’t seen enough of the series to bother guessing. What I do know is that FX already has a record-breaking show in Shōgun, which won more Emmys in a single year (18!) than any other show ever before. The network clearly knows how to run an awards campaign, and considering Alien: Earth reportedly cost them more than Shōgun’s hefty $250 million budget, there’s little doubt that FX will be pulling out all the stops for it during the next awards season.

I do, however, know which Emmy category Alien: Earth deserves to win, and perhaps it bodes well that it’s one of the many awards Shōgun took home last year. It’s the Emmy for Outstanding Main Title Design — an award that has gone to shows like The Last of Us and Severance in recent years as well. Now, I’ll admit that Alien: Earth might be an unlikely candidate for this award. The shows that typically get nominated have cleverly animated sequences with stirring theme music and lots of fancy credits for, you know, actors and producers and stuff. Alien: Earth … does not. What it does have, though, is the best use of a title sequence I’ve ever seen. It doubles as the episode’s “previously on” segment.

On most dramas at least, you get a “previously on” recap that reminds you about what’s been going on in previous episodes, often highlighting bits that may prove important to the episode you’re about to watch. Then maybe you’ll dive into a cold open, or maybe the show will jump straight to the title sequence. If you’re streaming the show, you’ll get an option to skip both.

There’s no skip button when you stream Alien: Earth, because it would be pointless. After the “FX Presents” card, what follows is roughly a minute of straight vibes while the title slowly appears in pieces — a line here, a curve there. The music is less song and more “depressed orchestra tunes instruments in space,” yet it still builds to an unlikely crescendo. And behind it all, there are images from the previous episode playing out — or, in the case of the season premiere, orienting shots of the USCSS Maginot interspersed with glamour pics of Xenomorphs.

In fact, there are always glamour shots of Xenomorphs in the title sequence, from their shiny teeth to the smooth lines of their skulls. None of it reminds you of anything plot-wise, not really. Or at least not in the way you’d expect a recap to, with important bits of dialogue or scenes of action demanding pay-off. This title sequence is a glorified mood board, offering up wordless glimpses of striking moments that may stir your memories, the way a particular scent in the air might.

Perhaps calling it a “previously on” is too strong. Really, Alien: Earth uses its title as a buffer, as a moment to reorient yourself for the act of watching the show. A chance to dip your toes back into the dark waters of the world before you’re immersed completely. While I largely agree with Kaleena’s initial review of the series — that it’s painfully on the nose with its themes — I’m also a die-hard defender of Noah Hawley’s previous genre fare, Legion, by which I mean I’m pretty much in the bag for stylish execution whether the thematic swings work or not. I don’t know if the journey will be worth it in Alien: Earth. So far, I can say without a doubt that the show is slick as hell. It puts all that hefty price tag up on the screen. And even if it doesn’t leave a lasting impact on the Alien franchise, it has redefined what a simple title sequence can achieve. That ought to be “Outstanding” enough for the Television Academy, if you ask me.