Television series

Resident Alien

An alien assassin crash-lands in small-town Colorado, steals a dead doctor's identity, and gets stuck actually doing the job while plotting humanity's extinction. It's a murder-mystery-of-the-week wrapped around a genuinely tender character study, with Alan Tudyk doing career-best physical comedy as a creature learning empathy against his will. Funny, weirder than it looks, and sneakily moving once it settles in.

TVMaze rating7.8

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Northern Exposure1990

The blueprint for the whole 'displaced professional in a town full of eccentrics' genre, done with warmth, whimsy and genuine philosophical curiosity about what makes a community work.

But Gentle 90s pacing throughout; no crime plot engine, so it can feel meandering if you want momentum.

Northern Exposure poster

3rd Rock from the Sun1996

Aliens studying humans by pretending to be one, mining every misunderstanding for comedy — the direct sitcom ancestor of Harry's fish-out-of-water confusion, played broader and sillier.

But Laugh-track multicam sitcom energy, pure silliness with none of the mystery-plot or emotional undertow.

3rd Rock from the Sun poster

Eureka2006

A small town hiding enormous secrets, a sheriff out of his depth, and sci-fi weirdness disguised as case-of-the-week charm — very close cousin in structure and tone.

But Softer stakes and a shinier, more family-friendly finish than Resident Alien's darker edges.

Eureka poster

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Day the Earth Stood Still1951

This is where 'alien judges whether to destroy or save humanity' started — Resident Alien takes the same moral premise and finds the comedy inside it.

The original version of Harry's exact question — an alien visits, studies humanity up close, and has to decide if the species is worth sparing — filmed with stark, serious Cold War dread.

But Slow, talky and stagey by modern standards; black-and-white 1950s pacing with none of the show's jokes.

The Day the Earth Stood Still poster
More like this (8)

The Good Place2016

An outsider forced to actually understand human ethics from scratch, using comedy to ask sincerely whether people deserve saving — the same philosophical spine, dressed as a sitcom.

But Heavier on moral-philosophy lecture-as-joke; less grounded, more high-concept afterlife architecture.

The Good Place poster

Psych2006

A fraud solving small-town murders while hiding what he really is, powered by a genuinely funny odd-couple partnership — great comfort viewing if you like the case-of-the-week rhythm.

But No sci-fi or existential stakes at all; it's pure breezy procedural comedy.

Psych poster

Schitt's Creek2015

Strangers forced into a small town they don't understand, slowly won over by people they initially despised — the emotional arc rhymes even without a drop of sci-fi.

But No mystery plot, no genre elements — purely character comedy, much softer and sweeter throughout.

Schitt's Creek poster

Lucifer2016

A powerful outsider posing as an ordinary human, solving crimes while slowly getting attached to the people he was supposed to feel nothing for.

But Glossier procedural format with a will-they-won't-they romance foregrounded much more than mystery or philosophy.

Lucifer poster

Wilfred2011no page yet

A dark, surreal comedy about a strange, possibly dangerous outsider who nudges a broken human toward connection — similarly unafraid to get uncomfortable under the jokes.

But Much more surreal and psychologically ambiguous; less plot, more mood and unease.

Ted Lasso2020

Another fish out of water winning over a skeptical community despite himself, with the same trick of hiding real emotional weight underneath constant comic charm.

But No genre hook or mystery — it's warm-hearted sports comedy through and through, sincerity dialed way up.

Ted Lasso poster

BoJack Horseman2014

Same trick as Harry's arc — a character sent to do damage, wrestling in comic form with whether he deserves redemption — but animated, and pushed far darker.

An animated dark comedy about someone who has done real harm and can't decide whether he's capable of being better, using cartoon absurdity to sneak up on genuine grief and self-loathing.

But Much bleaker and more emotionally punishing; the comedy curdles into something closer to despair.

BoJack Horseman poster

Under the Skin2014

Strip Resident Alien of every laugh and you get this — the same creature-wearing-a-human-suit premise played at maximum seriousness and dread.

An alien wears human skin to move undetected among people, watching, hunting, slowly destabilized by what she observes — hypnotic, unsettling, almost wordless.

But Glacially slow arthouse film with barely any dialogue or plot; deliberately alienating, zero jokes.

Under the Skin poster

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