Syfy Insider Exclusive

Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!

Sign Up For Free to View
SYFY WIRE Resident Alien

Resident Alien behind-the-scenes look dives into Harry's love life and Sheriff Thompson's gassy partner

By Josh Weiss
Resident Alien

In SYFY's new series, Resident Alien, an extraterrestrial (Alan Tudyk) has invaded the town of Patience, Colorado. But without his doomsday device, he can only intimidate the human populace through his inability to understand our social norms.

"He's using his body like...a meat puppet," Tudyk says of his lead alien, Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle, in the new behind-the-scenes featurette below. "Physically, he's somewhat erect and awkward. He hits all of the correct consonants and vowel sounds. We forget really fast that everybody is kind of just awkwardly stumbling through life."

As such, the good doctor's knowledge of bipedal romance is non-existent, so when he goes on a date with local bartender D'arcy (Alice Wetterlund), he ends up licking her face instead of bestowing her with a proper kiss. "It was really tough for [Alan]," explains Wetterlund in the video. "I was like, 'Don't worry about it, I went through puberty with boys, so it's happened."

Watch below:

The featurette also shines a spotlight on the town's cocky Sheriff, Mike Thompson (Corey Reynolds) and his right-hand deputy. No, not Liv Baker (Elizabeth Bowen), but the panting English Bulldog named Cletus. According to Reynolds, Cletus (real name: Gus) turned out to be a big farting machine in a very small package. 

"I don’t know what they’re feeding Gus, but based on his farts, it smells like they’re feeding him corpses. But he’s a lot of fun. He’s a good dog, he’s a good boy. He did a good job. He’s a good sidekick for the sheriff," the actor told SYFY WIRE prior to the show's premiere last month. 

residentalien_branch_promo2

"The dog’s original name in the script was 'Tiffany' because we thought it would be funny to have this really cute-named dog, but have Sheriff Mike and his gruff demeanor," Thompson continued. "When I saw Gus, I just turned to [showrunner] Chris [Sheridan] because I was there with him. Chris was like, ‘This is gonna be your dog, so you gotta help us pick out the dog!' I turned to Chris and was like, ‘Man, it’s gotta be him and his name’s gotta be Cletus.’ He just is a Cletus.'"

The first four episodes of Resident Alien are currently free to watch at SYFY.com, on the SYFY app, or on VOD. (Episode 1 is available until Feb. 26; Episodes 2 and 3 until March 5; and Episode 4 until March 19).