Roswell, New Mexico (TV series)

Roswell, New Mexico is an American science fiction drama television series, named after the city of Roswell, New Mexico with a famous UFO incident. Developed by Carina Adly Mackenzie for the CW, it debuted as a midseason entry during the 2018Ã¢ÂÂ2019 television season on January 15, 2019. The show ended its four-season run on September 5, 2022.

Rosewell, New Mexico is the second television adaptation of the Roswell High book series by Melinda Metz following the WB series Roswell (1999Ã¢ÂÂ2002).

Overview

After returning to her hometown of Roswell, New Mexico, Liz, the daughter of undocumented immigrants discovers her teenage crush is an alien who has kept his unearthly abilities hidden his entire life. She protects his secret as the two reconnect, but when a violent attack points to a greater alien presence on Earth, the politics of fear and hatred threaten to expose him.

Cast and characters

Main

Jeanine Mason as Liz Ortecho, a jaded biomedical researcher and the daughter of undocumented immigrants
Nathan Dean as Max Evans, a natural born leader and dedicated Roswell deputy sheriff, who has kept his true identity a secret for years
Michael Vlamis as Michael Guerin, a troubled but brilliant alien drifter, who survived a traumatic childhood and is trying to find a way to escape Earth
Lily Cowles as Isobel Evans, an alien and Max's sister, who keeps her true identity a secret by living her life with grace and enthusiasm
Tyler Blackburn as Alex Manes, an Air Force veteran with his fair share of physical and psychological trauma. Alex prepares to abandon his dreams and the possibility of a future with the man he loves, Michael Guerin, to fulfill his father's expectations.
Heather Hemmens as Maria DeLuca, Liz and Rosa's best friend, who is a bartender at the popular saloon the Wild Pony, and was previously oblivious to the existence of aliens
Michael Trevino as Kyle Valenti, a doctor and the son of the town sheriff, who learns about horrible things that have happened in his family's past
Trevor St. John as Jesse Manes (seasons 1Ã¢ÂÂ2), Alex's homophobic and violent father, a senior master sergeant with a secret to hide
Karan Oberoi as Noah Bracken (season 1; guest season 2), Isobel's charming, devoted lawyer husband, who senses a secret in his wife
Amber Midthunder as Rosa Ortecho (seasons 2Ã¢ÂÂ4; recurring season 1), Liz's older sister, who was apparently killed in a car crash while driving high on drugs, killing two other girl passengers in the process. Liz gradually comes to realize that Max may have been involved in her death.

Recurring

Carlos Compean as Arturo Ortecho, Liz's father, who runs the Crashdown Cafe diner. He is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico and has been hiding his undocumented status for nearly 30 years.
Peter Diseth as Grant / Graham Green, an alien theorist and podcaster and his twin brother, a proprietor of an alien-themed museum
Kayla Ewell as Nora Truman, Michael's biological mother who was present at the UFO crash in 1947
Rosa Arredondo as Michelle Valenti (seasons 1Ã¢ÂÂ3), Kyle's mother, who succeeded her late husband, Jim Valenti, as sheriff of Roswell
Dylan McTee as Wyatt Long (seasons 1Ã¢ÂÂ3), the brother of one of the girls Rosa Ortecho killed in a car accident, who harbors a grudge against her family
Riley Voelkel as Jenna Cameron (seasons 1Ã¢ÂÂ2, 4), Max's fellow deputy and partner In the fourth season, she joins the FBI.
Sherri Saum as Mimi DeLuca (seasons 1Ã¢ÂÂ2), Maria's mother, who suffers from an undiagnosed mental illness typified by some temporary memory loss and her belief in aliens
Claudia Black as Ann Evans (seasons 1Ã¢ÂÂ2), Max and Isobel's adoptive mother
Kiowa Gordon as Flint Manes (seasons 1Ã¢ÂÂ2), Alex Manes' older brother
Justina Adorno as Steph (season 2), the daughter of the hospital's director of Surgery who catches Kyle's attention
Jason Behr as Tripp Manes (season 2), Alex Manes' great-uncle who was present at the UFO crash in 1947
Cassandra Jean Amell as Louise Truman (seasons 2Ã¢ÂÂ3; guest season 4), Isobel's biological mother who was present at the UFO crash in 1947
Gaius Charles as Roy Bronson (seasons 2Ã¢ÂÂ3; guest season 4), a farmer from 1947 who befriends Nora and falls in love with Louise
Jamie Clayton as Grace Powell / Charlie Cameron (season 2), Jenna Cameron's sister who is on the run from the military
Cleo Anthony as Diego (season 2), Liz's ex-fiancÃÂ© whom she left in Colorado prior to her return to Roswell
Christian Antidormi as Forrest Long (seasons 2Ã¢ÂÂ3), Wyatt Long's cousin and a love interest of Alex Manes
Tanner Novlan as Gregory Manes (seasons 2Ã¢ÂÂ3), Alex Manes' protective older brother
La'Charles Trask as Bert (seasons 2Ã¢ÂÂ3)
Steven Krueger as Heath (season 3, guest season 4), Liz's colleague at Genoryx
Sibongile Mlambo as Anatsa (season 3Ã¢ÂÂ4), an investigative journalist
David DeSantos as Edgar (season 3)
Michael Grant Terry as Jordan Bernhardt (season 3), the son of Roswell's mayor
Gillian Vigman as Brooke Taylor (season 3), the town sheriff
Quentin Plair as Dallas (season 3Ã¢ÂÂ4)
Andrew Lees as Clyde (season 4)
Zoe Cipres as Bonnie (season 4)
Rekha Sharma as Dr. Shivani Sen (season 4)

Production

Development

In January 2018, the CW ordered the show to pilot, with Julie Plec set to direct. Production companies involved with the pilot included Amblin Television, Bender Brown Productions, CBS Television Studios and Warner Bros. Television. The CW ordered the show to series on May 11, 2018. On April 24, 2019, the CW renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on March 16, 2020. On January 7, 2020, the series was renewed for a third season. On February 3, 2021, ahead of its third season premiere, the CW renewed the series for a fourth season. The third season premiered on July 26, 2021. The fourth season premiered on June 6, 2022. On May 12, 2022, the CW announced that the fourth season would be the last.

Casting

On February 16, 2018, Jeanine Mason was cast in the lead role of Liz Ortecho. In early March, the rest of the cast was filled out, with Nathan Parsons as Max Evans, Lily Cowles as Isobel, Michael Vlamis as Michael Guerin, Tyler Blackburn as Alex Manes, Heather Hemmens as Maria DeLuca, and Michael Trevino as Kyle Valenti. Karan Oberoi was cast in the final series regular role of Noah Bracken on March 27, 2018. Trevor St. John was cast in a recurring role as Alex's father on March 12, 2018. In April 2019, Amber Midthunder, who played Liz's older sister Rosa in a recurring capacity in the first season, was promoted to the main cast for the second season. In May 2020, Tanner Novlan was cast in the recurring role of Alex's brother, Gregory, first appearing in the tenth episode of the second season. At the end of that year, it was confirmed that he would reprise the role in the third season.

Filming

Filming for the pilot took place in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Production on the pilot begin on March 14, 2018, and ended on March 30, 2018. The rest of the first-season episodes began filming August 13, 2018, in Las Vegas, New Mexico; and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Filming on the third season began on October 15, 2020. Filming for the fourth and final season started in August 2021 and concluded in January 2022.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2019)

Season 2 (2020)

Season 3 (2021)

Season 4 (2022)

Reception

Critical reception

The series holds an approval rating of 55% based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 6.22/10 on Rotten Tomatoes. The website's critic consensus reads: "Roswell, New Mexico admirably adds modern political context to its premise, but this reboot hews too closely to its predecessor to transcend the pitfalls of a redundant retread." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 58 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Ratings

Overall

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Home media

Warner Archive Collection released a manufacture-on-demand DVD of the first season on January 28, 2020.