TV Show review
January 15, 2019 · 45 min · TV-14 · Canceled · Drama · Sci-Fi · Fantasy
Based on 4 seasons, 52 episodes · through September 5, 2022
Roswell, New Mexico is a sci-fi drama show. It is about a woman named Liz who goes back to her hometown. There she finds out that her high school crush is actually an alien. The show has very strong and highly visible social justice themes. It focuses heavily on illegal immigration and border issues. It also features many main characters who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. The show uses the sci-fi alien story to talk about real-world political topics.
Why 99%? See the score breakdownBreakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Roswell, New Mexico.
Woke representation / casting
The casting heavily emphasizes diversity and identity representation. The lead character is a Latina woman. Multiple main characters are changed to be LGBTQ+. This includes Michael, who is bisexual, and Alex, who is gay. Their queer romance is a main part of the show. Isobel is also bisexual. This high level of queer and racial representation is very visible.
92%
Woke political dialogue
The characters speak directly about real-world politics. They make frequent statements about immigration, ICE, and border walls. In the first episode, a podcast character rants about illegal immigrants, and Liz quickly defends her undocumented father. Characters also have deep talks about sexuality, racism, and gender roles.
80%
Identity-driven story themes
The entire show is built around identity politics. The alien characters are a direct metaphor for undocumented immigrants. The story focuses on the fear of being caught by the government. It also deals with the struggles of being queer in a conservative military town. The characters constantly deal with racism and homophobia.
88%
Western institutional / cultural critique
The show heavily criticizes American institutions. It portrays immigration officers, local police, and the military as cruel and corrupt. Traditional conservative values are shown as bigoted and hateful. An abusive military father character is used to represent toxic masculinity and homophobia.
82%
Woke character or canon changes
The reboot makes massive changes to the original characters from the books and the 1999 show. Liz was changed from white to Latina. Alex was changed from straight to gay. Michael was changed from straight to bisexual. These changes were made on purpose to promote progressive and LGBTQ+ representation.
85%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Many viewers gave the show bad reviews for being too preachy. Audiences complained that the show was used as political propaganda. They felt that the sweet sci-fi romance of the original was replaced by constant lectures on identity politics, border control, and social justice.
78%
Creator track record context
The creators have a strong history of pushing progressive ideas. Showrunner Carina Adly MacKenzie has a high woke score of 75 for her active queer advocacy. Several writers on the team also have documented histories of fighting for progressive hiring practices and identity-focused stories.
58%
Production
