The series by creator Noah Hawley is described as a spin-off to the original Ridley Scott-directed film, "Alien," from 1979. The film follows a space crew aboard the starship, Nostromo, who are on their journey back home when they receive a distress call from an alien vessel.

Earth fits into the overall Alien timeline. While Romulus was set in the year 2142—right smack in between the events of Alien, which takes place in 2122, and the 1986 James Cameron-directed sequel Aliens,