Apple TV+ has just dropped the trailer for Season 3 of alien invader drama Invasion, in case you needed another reminder that the streamer punches above its weight in the sci-fi department.
Premiering August 22, the new season of Invasion brings together the show’s scattered cast of global characters for the first time, as the fight against Earth’s alien invaders reaches an apocalyptic new phase. The aliens — more horrifying than ever this time around — are tightening their grip, spreading across the planet with deadly force. Humanity’s last hope lies in a global team-up, with former strangers uniting on a do-or-die mission to infiltrate the alien mothership and save what’s left of the species.
Season 3 stars returning cast members Golshifteh Farahani, Shioli Kutsuna, Shamier Anderson, India Brown, Shane Zaza, and Enver Gjokaj, with Erika Alexander joining the team this time around. And in keeping with Apple’s high standard for prestige TV, Invasion is helmed by heavyweights Simon Kinberg and David Weil, whose creative fingerprints are all over the show’s cinematic scope and the, in my opinion, jaw-dropping visuals.
What’s more: If you’ve been watching Apple TV+ at all over the last few years, then this is the kind of show that’s starting to look pretty familiar to you. That’s because the streamer has carved out a unique niche as the streaming home for sophisticated, thoughtful science fiction. I’ve been a subscriber since the service launched in 2019, and while I’ve loved everything from Ted Lasso to Drops of God, it’s the sci-fi content that keeps me coming back week after week.
Shows like Severance, Silo, For All Mankind, Foundation, and Dark Matter aren’t just good; they’re some of the best sci-fi shows anywhere, on any streaming platform. Severance, for example, remains a near-perfect piece of dystopian storytelling, with a 96% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. For All Mankind, Apple’s alternate-history space race drama, is right behind it at 92%. And newer standouts like Dark Matter — which is kind of like a mashup of Inception, The Matrix, and It’s a Wonderful Life — prove that the platform isn’t slipping at all when it comes to delivering a gut punch of sci-fi weirdness and heart in equal measure.
In addition to new seasons of Foundation and Severance in the works, Invasion’s imminent return to Apple TV+ is a reminder that the bar for ambitious, emotionally resonant sci-fi remains sky-high. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Apple TV+ remains the streaming home of the best sci-fi on television, bar none.
