Why Resident Alien Season 4 Won't Replicate The Best Thing About Season 3

Resident Alien season 3 finally started to ramp up a specific aspect of the sci-fi dramedy's world, but showrunner Chris Sheridan has already explained why the upcoming run won't be able to keep it going. So, although the Resident Alien cast is thankfully returning to continue the story after a period of uncertainty, the pace of the project's worldbuilding is unlikely to be able to continue as it did in its most recent batch of episodes.

Although little is known about what will happen in Resident Alien season 4, the ending of Resident Alien season 3 provides some pretty solid clues about what's to come. Plus, certain comments and rumors about the show's behind-the-scenes changes also provide some teases of how Resident Alien season 4 will be different from the previous three runs. Although it's great that the show is being given a chance to continue, Sheridan has suggested the show will sadly be unable to maintain the pace of how often new alien species are introduced.

Resident Alien Season 4 Is Limited With The New Extraterrestrial Species It Can Introduce

Heather's Blue Avian form was just the show's second fully-prosthetic alien

Speaking with Assignmentx, the Resident Alien showrunner talked about the debut of Edi Patterson's Blue Avian character in season 3. Heather's entrance is incredibly memorable given her appearance as a massive anthropomorphized bird species, and it also furthered the audience's knowledge of life beyond Earth within the world of the show. Sadly, Sheridan has confirmed that this isn't something that can happen all too often given the financial demands of building such a complex prosthetic.

"You can’t do too many of those in one season. So, you just have to balance the budget a little bit, and pick your moments to really lean into something that’s different and bigger.”

With reports of Resident Alien season 4's reduced budget floating around, moments like Heather's arrival sound like they'll be largely a thing of the past in the upcoming run. Of course, there could still be brief shots of other CGI races, like Resident Alien's Grey Aliens, but it doesn't really have the same impact as an extended look at an impressively made prosthetic. However, Sheridan doesn't say it will be impossible to repeat an entrance like Heather's in Resident Alien season 4.

Instead, Sheridan simply states that there won't be many scenes like Heather's. In other words, there will probably be, at most, one. The most obvious candidate for whom this scene will be used is Resident Alien season 4's new villain - the Mantid. The insectoid's real head is revealed by Max's alien-spotting gene, but the upcoming season will surely have a big moment when the Mantid's fully alien form is on show.

Heather's Introduction In Resident Alien Season 3 Is One Of The Run's Most Memorable Moments

Harry's first real love interest eventually goes on to appear in human form

Resident Alien season 3's truncated run meant there was less time for moments other than the finale to really surprise the viewers from a visual standpoint. Heather's alien appearance is only the second fully prosthetic design introduced to the show, with the other being Harry's natural form. So, this makes it a landmark occasion in a run that otherwise fell generally short of the show's high standards. So, the possibility of just one more fully prosthetic extraterrestrial in Resident Alien season 4, or even none, is even more upsetting.

Source: Assignmentx