The science fiction series Resident Alien takes place in a small fictional town called Patience, Colorado, but that’s not where it was filmed. The rural town was actually composed of a mixture of locations and sound stages in Vancouver, Canada. Although it was shot in an entirely different place, it is still believable that the show takes place in Colorado thanks to a few smart choices made by creators.
The science fiction series is based on a comic book of the same name. The original story in the comics, which were written by Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse, took place in Washington. Nevertheless, even though the Resident Alien adaptation made changes from the comics, the peculiar little town of Patience, Colorado still made the perfect setting for the television adaptation. In the first episode, the town is described as a place where “Nobody in their right mind would live… unless they have something to hide,” proving that the fictional setting was the ideal place for an alien disguising his appearance by posing as a human whilst debating the morality of his mission to destroy humanity.
Areas in and around Vancouver in British Columbia provided all the scenery needed to make Patience, Colorado come to life. A majority of the series, which was rated one of 2021’s best sci-fi TV shows, takes place indoors, and many of these interior shots were filmed on sound stages in Vancouver. Ladysmith, a town located on the East coast of the island supplied the town’s exterior. Finding a bar, health clinic, and town hall that were all in view of one another made the small town in the Resident Alien series feel more realistic as each of its significant locations are genuinely within throwing distance of each other rather than being miles apart. Many of its crew had to travel a bit further, however, to develop the area’s mountainous and snowy environment. Although viewers have taken issue with recent changes to the show, particularly Harry’s new powers in season 2, it’s undeniable creators are still paying special attention to the story’s setting, especially the snow-covered peaks, which were shot in the Sea to Sky Corridor region. These high-altitude filming locations were only accessible by helicopter. Various other buildings, such as the bell tower, Peak Fuel gas station, bowling alley, and art gallery, were spread throughout British Columbia.
Creators switched the setting from Washington to Colorado due to a love for the Colorado Rockies. Although they chose not to film the series in the United States, they selected 1st Avenue in Ladysmith because it reminded writer and executive producer Chris Sheridan of the real-life Rocky Mountain town of Crested Butte, Colorado. It was also important to choose a town like Ladysmith because while Vancouver has played host to popular movies and TV shows – such as Deadpool starring Vancouver-born actor Ryan Reynolds – Ladysmith, which has a population of less than 9,000, hasn’t been home to a large number of productions. Deciding on the various locations – including a little-known town, mountainous areas only accessible by helicopter, interior shots built especially for the TV series, and various locations that are hardly close to one another – was a wise decision as it made it easier for viewers to believe that the locations in Resident Alien belong to Patience without automatically associating the setting with a locale they’ve already seen.
