Timothy Olyphant is set to star in Hulu’s upcoming series, Alien: Earth, and it may be the perfect replacement for Justified that I’ve wanted for a long time. Olyphant has had a successful acting career across stage and screen spanning over three decades. Timothy is acclaimed for his performances in television shows such as Deadwood and Damages and received worldwide recognition for his harrowing role as Mickey Altieri, one of the Ghostface killers in Scream 2, which launched his career as a movie actor.
Arguably, Timothy Olyphant’s best career performance is his role as U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens in Justified, based on the short story by Elmore Leonard. Among many nominations, Olyphant won a Satellite Award in 2011, and the critical success of Justified resulted in the release of a spinoff miniseries, Justified: City Primeval, which saw Olyphant reprise his role of Raylan Givens. Olyphant has since expressed interest in season 2 of Justified: City Primeval. However, Olyphant’s new role in Alien: Earth could be a turning point in his career.
Alien: Earth Looks Like It Could Finally Be Timothy Olyphant’s Prestige TV Replacement For Justified
Alien: Earth Will Premiere On Hulu On August 12, 2025
Alien: Earth was first announced in 2022, with The Hollywood Reporter confirming that it would serve as a prequel to the 1979 sci-fi classic, Alien. Plot details for Alien: Earth reveal that the series is set in the year 2120, in a world where cyborgs and synthetics exist among humanity, and the Earth is managed by five separate governments named Threshold, Lynch, Weyland-Yutani, Dynamic, and Prodigy. After a spacecraft crashes into Earth, its peaceful existence is shattered, and a group of soldiers, led by Wendy (Sydney Chandler), make a discovery that puts the world at risk.
Alien: Earth is the first television series released in the Alien franchise, and is set two years before the events of the acclaimed Alien movie. Teasers for Alien: Earth have already shown that the series intends to offer viewers something different from what was previously seen, with Alien: Earth being the first entry in the sci-fi franchise to depict an invasion set on Earth. If the upcoming series proves to be successful with critics, it could allow a resurgence in Timothy Olyphant’s career.
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Timothy Olyphant has had an incredible 21-year streak with television since Deadwood, and his two upcoming shows should be able to continue it.
Since the conclusion of Justified in 2015, Timothy Olyphant has made guest appearances on TV series such as The Mandalorian, and he even parodied his Justified character in an episode of The Good Place. While Olyphant received praise for his performance as Dick Wickware in Fargo and won a Critics’ Choice Award in 2016 for his work in The Grinder, his work on both shows only lasted one season and arguably failed to achieve the same level of success he had as Raylan Givens in Justified.
Alien: Earth is executive produced by Noah Hawley, who created the acclaimed TV series Legion and Fargo.
With what is currently known about Alien: Earth, it shows that it has the potential to live up to the success of its predecessors. If the series does well with critics and viewers, it could help solidify Timothy Olyphant’s skills as a leading actor and serve as the perfect replacement for his role in Justifed.
Timothy Olyphant’s Alien: Earth Story Looks Very Different From His Justified Role
His Character In Alien: Earth Is Very Different From Raylan Givens In Justified
Among the cast of Alien: Earth, Timothy Olyphant stars as Kirsch, a member of a group of soldiers who investigate the crash-landing of a mysterious spacecraft. Early Alien: Earth footage of Timothy Olyphant’s character shows that Kirsch serves as a mentor and trainer to Wendy, a meta-human with a child’s consciousness. Kirsch is a big departure from Raylan Givens in Justified; while Givens is a no-nonsense U.S. Marshal who devotes his time to resolving criminal activity, Kirsch is a synthetic specifically designed to help Wendy throughout her missions in Alien: Earth, potentially impacted by the future’s uncertainty.
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How FX’s Alien TV Show Can Be Set On Earth Without Breaking Alien Canon
Alien: Earth is a hugely exciting entry in the sci-fi franchise, but its existence may cause some problems for the series’ complicated timeline.
Timothy Olyphant’s character will continue the consistent Alien trend of including synthetics in every entrant of the sci-fi franchise. Synthetics are established in Alien as highly intelligent, strong, and immune to the terrifying Xenomorphs depicted throughout the franchise. As shown through the inclusion of previous synthetics in the Alien movies, their deep understanding of humanity makes them dependable allies, which could be further explored through Kirsch’s mentorship of Wendy throughout Alien: Earth. While further details are yet to be announced, it looks like Timothy Olyphant has finally found the perfect Justified replacement I’ve anticipated for years.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
