Alien: Earth, a spin-off from Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi horror classic, is one of the most critically acclaimed new streaming series of the year.

The gory space horror that has been terrifying audiences for over four decades has now made its way to the small screen as Alien's first ever live-action series, courtesy of FX.

Last Wednesday (13th August), two episodes premiered on Disney+, introducing viewers to Wendy (portrayed by Sydney Chandler), a synthetic human with the consciousness of a young girl.

When a research vessel carrying valuable and lethal cargo crashes on Earth, Wendy leads a group of hybrids known as the Lost Boys on a daring rescue mission in hopes of reuniting with her brother, Hermit (Alex Lawther).

As Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley's new series is set to expand the Alien franchise like never before, it's time to figure out where exactly the series fits into the franchise's complex continuity, reports the Mirror.

Alien: Earth takes place in the not-too-distant future, specifically the year 2120.

Building upon the foundation of the original film, the series portrays a grim vision of the future where Earth and the colonised Solar System are ruled by five corporations following the collapse of global governments.

The remaining episodes will explore the aftermath of the USCSS Maginot's crash landing on Earth after a 65-year expedition in search of alien lifeforms across the galaxy.

The catalyst for the series is therefore in 2055, just before the earliest year of the Alien franchise we've seen so far...

Excluding the Alien vs Predator films, which are set in 2004 and aren't considered official canon, the Alien timeline starts with the 2012 film Prometheus.

This prequel delves into the origins of the Xenomorphs and follows an expedition to the distant moon LV-223 that begins in 2089 and arrives in December, 2093.

Prometheus was succeeded by Alien: Covenant, which brought audiences back to Michael Fassbender's menacing android David 11 years later, in 2104.

Alien: Earth is thus set 16 years after the events of Covenant, in 2120, although the events of the film and series haven't connected... yet.

In chronological order, Alien: Earth leads into the very first film in the franchise, Alien, which was released in 1979 and set in 2122, where a rescue mission to the moon LV-426 ends disastrously.

While some viewers might think James Cameron's 1986 classic Aliens would be the next film in the timeline, the release of Alien: Romulus last year filled the gap as it's set in 2142, introducing fans to Marie Raines 'Rain' Carradine (Cailee Spaeny) and her android 'brother' Andy (David Jonsson).

Aliens is next with Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) returning to a recently colonised LV-426 in 2179 after being rescued from cryosleep.

The 1992 film Alien 3 is set shortly after the events of Aliens, once again in 2179, when Ripley crash lands on Fiorina 'Fury' 161, a desolate world where she becomes a prisoner.

The franchise's most distant future was explored in the 1997 film Alien: Resurrection, where a cloned Ripley awakens in the year 2381, 202 years after her demise.

Will Alien: Earth propel the franchise even further into the future? Keep an eye out each week to discover.

Alien: Earth continues Wednesdays on Disney+.