Available to stream the next day on Peacock, Resident Alien season 3 premiered on SYFY on Wednesday, February 14. The new batch of episodes follows Harry’s tentative alliance with General McCallister as they work together to stop the Greys from destroying the planet. In perhaps the show’s biggest plot twist to date, the season 2 finale revealed that Mayor Ben Hawthorne has been abducted by aliens, and he and Kate have a child that was kidnapped from her womb.
Levi Fiehler, who portrays Ben, has been featured in such projects as Mars, SEAL Team, and The Fosters. Meanwhile, Meredith Garretson plays Kate and is most well-known for her role as Ali MacGraw in Paramount+’s The Offer. The main cast of Resident Alien also includes Alan Tudyk, Elizabeth Bowen, Corey Reynolds, Sara Tomko, Alice Wetterlund, and Judah Prehn.
Resident Alien’s Octopus Voice: Why He Sounds So Familiar
The Resident Alien season 2 premiere brought back the familiar character of the octopus, but audiences may think his voice is awfully familiar, too.
In honor of the show’s return, Screen Rant interviewed Meredith Garretson and Levi Fiehler about the season 2 finale’s major plot twist and what it could mean for their characters in Resident Alien season 3.
Meredith Garretson & Levi Fiehler Talk Resident Alien Season 3
Screen Rant: Levi, as far as we’ve known, Ben’s storyline has been very separate from the aliens. With the revelation of his abduction, what was it like to finally bring your character into that world?
Levi Fiehler: It cleared up a lot of things for me. When Chris first told me that that was going to happen to Ben at the end of the season, we talked a lot about how this might explain a lot of Ben’s behavior throughout the first two seasons, which is mostly full of being a coward and just being afraid of conflict. We talked a lot about how he’s, basically, without knowing, been abducted for his entire life since he was a child. It was fun to put those pieces together to realize that this explains a lot of why Ben is the character that he is.
We also find out that your unborn baby is alive. What was your reaction when you read that in the script, and did you have any questions?
Meredith Garretson: When he told us that’s where we were going, I was like, “Oh, this offers us so much,” because I think both of us have this sense, in very different ways, Ben may move away from conflict, and I sort of move into it. But there’s this sense of things not feeling right, or something being wrong, or not fitting in, or looking for a place and this unease. I feel like it was such an awesome way to launch into season 3.
I start the season with no idea of what’s happened to me, but with this underlying feeling that something isn’t right. I have no conscious memory of the abduction, or that my baby’s been taken, but there’s this tension and fear that’s inside my body, which is, I think, how it comes out. And especially in the beginning of season 3, I’m scared of being in my own home, and how I respond to that. It was a very activating place to launch into the next season.
Shifting gears a bit, I’m a huge fan of the relationship between your characters. I love that they have their ups and downs. I think it shows how real relationships take work. How do you each feel about the way the show has portrayed their marriage so far?
Levi Fiehler: It’s hard. I remember talking to Chris a little bit about this. In some instances, we’ll take in the relationship, one step forward, but then the next episode is two more steps back. So it’s this constant push and pull, which is appropriate for a television show. If we just got along the whole time or fought the whole time, it wouldn’t be interesting. You need those ups and downs. I think, as each episode comes along, the relationship progresses, which is nice to see.
They’re in such a different place at the end of season 3, especially than they were in the pilot and the first couple episodes. It’s been great. Especially with Meredith as a scene partner. We get to discuss a lot of how we’re feeling about things, and Chris is so open to talking things over. I’ve never worked on a show where I’ve gotten to interact that much with creative people in charge. It’s been fun to be a part of it.
Meredith Garretson: Yeah, same. It’s so funny because when you start the series, at first glance, these two people can seem at times like oil and water. They’re really bouncing off of each other in really negative ways. We’re like, “What’s going to happen to these two people?” The marriage has become more three-dimensional every passing episode. I really fell in love with their dynamic, because the reality is that people do get out of sync, people do feel like they’re on different pages, or what’s going on inside manifests outside and gets taken out on the people who you’re the closest to.
What I love about them is that element of actually how they’re different. It was such an act of mercy for Kate to choose Ben because he’s the perfect balance to her. He reacts so differently to scenarios than she does and has such different internal motivations, but he’s so kind. I feel like they weather so many storms, because they keep coming back to this central theme of human chemistry, not just sexy chemistry, human chemistry and kindness between them.
It’s really fun to be a part of, because you can go into these conflict moments, and some of them are hilarious. That’s really fun to live out with Levi, because he’s an unbelievable scene partner and is so funny, and the writing is so funny. But then we also get to just drop it all and be just dropped in and have real human connection moments of grief or deep love. It’s such a dynamic relationship. We’ve been doing this since 2018. We’ve been working on this partnership for going on five years. It’s become really full and deep, and I cherish it.
Levi, on that same note, Ben is very devoted to his wife, but there was a little bit of a tease last season with D’Arcy. There’s obviously something on her end, but how were you approaching it from your character’s point of view?
Levi Fiehler: From my character’s point of view, I just made the decision that I’ve known Darcy my entire life, and, yes, we did have this romantic history together, but, ultimately, I love her like family. I’m comfortable around her because I’ve known her for so long. I never approached it in a romantic way or was at least trying not to. I do love and care about my friend, but then that gets mixed up from the place that she’s in at the moment, and then it kind of spirals from that kiss a bit, and then Ben’s obviously afraid to be honest with Kate about it. I just approached it as my best friend is having a hard time basically.
About Resident Alien Season 3
Based on the Dark Horse comics, SYFY’s “Resident Alien” follows a crash-landed alien named Harry (Alan Tudyk) whose secret mission is to kill all humans. In season three, Harry is vowing to work with General McCallister (Linda Hamilton) to rid the Earth of the Grey aliens – a task made more difficult when he discovers that the Grey Hybrid Joseph (Enver Gjokaj) has taken a job in town as the new Deputy.
Joseph isn’t Harry’s only obstacle – Harry struggles to balance business and his personal life when he falls in love for the first time. Meanwhile, Asta (Sara Tomko) and D’arcy (Alice Wetterlund) move in together and struggle to discover their purpose in the world, Sheriff Mike (Corey Reynolds) and Deputy Liv (Elizabeth Bowen) continue their quest to find out who killed the Alien Tracker, and Ben (Levi Fiehler) and Kate (Meredith Garretson) are forced to deal with the subconscious repercussions of their alien abductions.
Check out our other interviews with the Resident Alien cast:
- Alan Tudyk & Chris Sheridan
- Corey Reynolds
- Sara Tomko & Alice Wetterlund
Resident Alien
A television adaptation of the comic book series, Resident Alien is a sci-fi comedy that stars Alan Tudyk as an alien who crashes on Earth with one mission – destroy humanity to save the planet. When Tudyk’s character takes the identity of a doctor, he arrives at a small town and begins to act the role preparing his plan. As time passes, he develops human emotions against his will – but his plans are further complicated when he meets the son of the mayor – who can see his actual appearance.
- Release Date
- January 27, 2021
- Cast
- Alan Tudyk , Elizabeth Bowen , Judah Prehn , Levi Fiehler , Corey Reynolds , Alice Wetterlund , Sara Tomko
- Seasons
- 3
- Writers
- Chris Sheridan , Biniam Bizuneh , Sarah Beckett , Emily Eslami , Jeffrey Nieves , Tommy Pico
- Network
- SyFy
- Directors
- Robert Duncan McNeill , Kabir Akhtar , Shannon Kohli
- Showrunner
- Chris Sheridan
- Where To Watch
- Peacock
