Where was Resident Alien filmed? All filming locations explored

Resident Alien is an American sci-fi comedy series that first aired on the Syfy network on January 27, 2021. The show is based on Steve Parkhouse and Peter Hogan's graphic novel of the same name, which was published in 2012. Created by Chris Sheridan, the show's second season aired in two parts on January 26, 2022, and August 10, 2022. Meanwhile, the third season aired on February 14, 2024.

Resident Alien follows an alien, Harry Vanderspeigle (Alan Tudyk), who is masquerading as a human physician in the small town of Patience, Colorado. While the show is set in an American town, it was filmed at multiple locations in British Columbia, including Vancouver and Britannia Beach.

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Ladysmith, Vancouver Island was turned into Patience, Colorado for Resident Alien

An image from the show Resident Alien (Image via IMDb)

While the show is set in the fictional American town of Patience, Colorado, the creators filmed it in a small town, Ladysmith, on Vancouver Island, in Canada. All the exterior shots and the main street of Patience were filmed in this historic town.

Three of the biggest shooting locations for the show included the town hall, town clinic, and local bar. They were all filmed at a short distance from each other within Ladysmith.

The town's Travelers Hotel at 422 1st Avenue doubled as the show's city hall. Similarly, the Ladysmith and District Credit Union office at 330 1st Avenue became the town clinic. Lastly, the Barnacle Barney was turned into the local town bar, The 59.

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The show's interior shots were captured in a studio

An interior shot from the series Resident Alien (Image via IMDb)

Resident Alien's interior shots were filmed on two soundstages at the Sim Derwent Studio in Delta, British Columbia.

The show's production designer, Michael Joy, elaborated on this in 2024 and said that they had two soundstages where different interior shots were filmed.

"We have two soundstages. On the soundstages are the diner, the mayor's office, police station, and D’Arcy and Asta’s apartment. In the other studio, we have Harry's cabin, the Hawthornes’ house, and the bar," Joy stated.

He added that they also had a "little bit of room" where they stored their swing sets. Joy noted that since they "basically built out" both their studios, what they could build after was "very, very limited."

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The filming locations for outdoor settings in Resident Alien

An image from the Alan Tudyk-starrer Resident Alien (Image via IMDb)

The sequences atop the snowy mountain ranges in the show were captured at the Sea-to-Sky Corridor, Rainbow Mountain, and Pemberton Ice Cap. Since they were filming in remote areas that were located at heights of more than 6000 feet, the cast, crew, and filming equipment had to be flown in using helicopters.

The exterior shots of Dr. Harry’s lakeside cabin were those of a facade that bordered an inlet at Britannia Beach, close to Howe Sound.

Some scenes depicting New York City were filmed in downtown Vancouver, with the Vancouver Art Gallery being depicted as the New York Public Library.

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Plot Summary

The show's summary on Rotten Tomatoes reads:

"An alien crashes on Earth and hides in a remote Colorado mountain town. After assuming the identity of the town doctor, Harry Vanderspeigle, his nefarious mission to kill all humans is threatened when he realizes one of the townspeople, a 9-year-old boy, can see his true alien form."

It continues:

"Harry starts off living a simple life, but things get a bit rocky when he's roped into solving a local murder and realizes he needs to assimilate into his new world and slowly begins to wrestle with the moral dilemma of his secret mission on Earth."

The show's main cast includes Alan Tudyk as the titular alien/Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle, and David Bianchi as Harry's future self, Goliath.

It features Sara Tomko as Asta Twelvetrees, Corey Reynolds as Sheriff Mike Thompson, and Alice Wetterlund as D'arcy Bloom. The show also sees Levi Fiehler as Ben Hawthorne, Judah Prehn as Max Hawthorne, and Elizabeth Bowen as Deputy Olivia 'Liv' Baker.

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The first season of Resident Alien can be streamed on Netflix, and all three seasons of the show can be found on Peacock.