| Invasion | |
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| Genre | |
| Created by | |
| Starring |
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| Music by |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original languages |
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| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 30 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Running time | 33–58 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Apple TV+ |
| Release | October 22, 2021 (2021-10-22) – October 10, 2025 (2025-10-10) |
| Network | Apple TV |
| Release | October 17, 2025 (2025-10-17) – present |
Invasion is an Americanscience fiction television series created bySimon Kinberg andDavid Weil that premiered onApple TV+ on October 22, 2021.[2][3] The show is broadcast in amultilingual format, where the English track also features characters speaking in other original languages, such asJapanese, andPersian. It has received a mixed critical response. In Germany, the show is calledInfiltration.[4] It was renewed for a second season in December 2021,[5] which premiered on August 23, 2023.[6] It was renewed for a third season in February 2024,[7] and premiered on August 22, 2025.[8]
Earth is visited by an alien species that threatens humanity's existence. Events unfold in real time through the eyes of a handful of ordinary people across the globe as they struggle to make sense of the increasing chaos around them.
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 10 | October 22, 2021 (2021-10-22) | December 10, 2021 (2021-12-10) | |
| 2 | 10 | August 23, 2023 (2023-08-23) | October 25, 2023 (2023-10-25) | |
| 3 | 10 | August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22) | October 24, 2025 (2025-10-24) | |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Last Day" | Jakob Verbruggen | Simon Kinberg &David Weil | October 22, 2021 (2021-10-22) |
| 2 | 2 | "Crash" | Jakob Verbruggen | Simon Kinberg & David Weil | October 22, 2021 (2021-10-22) |
| 3 | 3 | "Orion" | Jamie Payne | Simon Kinberg & David Weil | October 22, 2021 (2021-10-22) |
| 4 | 4 | "The King Is Dead" | Jamie Payne | Simon Kinberg | October 29, 2021 (2021-10-29) |
| 5 | 5 | "Going Home" | Amanda Marsalis | Simon Kinberg | November 5, 2021 (2021-11-05) |
| 6 | 6 | "Home Invasion" | Amanda Marsalis | Andrew Baldwin | November 12, 2021 (2021-11-12) |
| 7 | 7 | "Hope" | Amanda Marsalis | Story by : Simon Kinberg and David J. Rosen Teleplay by : Simon Kinberg & Andrew Baldwin | November 19, 2021 (2021-11-19) |
| 8 | 8 | "Contact" | Amanda Marsalis | Story by : Andrew Baldwin & Simon Kinberg and Gursimran Sandhu Teleplay by : Andrew Baldwin & Simon Kinberg | November 25, 2021 (2021-11-25) |
| 9 | 9 | "Full of Stars" | Jakob Verbruggen | Andrew Baldwin & Simon Kinberg | December 3, 2021 (2021-12-03) |
| 10 | 10 | "First Day" | Jakob Verbruggen | Andrew Baldwin & Simon Kinberg | December 10, 2021 (2021-12-10) |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "Something's Changed" | Alik Sakharov | Simon Kinberg | August 23, 2023 (2023-08-23) |
| 12 | 2 | "Chasing Ghosts" | Alik Sakharov | Tatiana Suarez-Pico | August 30, 2023 (2023-08-30) |
| 13 | 3 | "Fireworks" | Alik Sakharov | Aditi Brennan Kapil | September 6, 2023 (2023-09-06) |
| 14 | 4 | "The Tunnel" | Brad Anderson | Dan Dietz | September 13, 2023 (2023-09-13) |
| 15 | 5 | "A Voice from the Other Side" | Alik Sakharov | Donald Joh | September 20, 2023 (2023-09-20) |
| 16 | 6 | "Pressure Points" | Brad Anderson | Story by : Uzoamaka Maduka and Donald Joh Teleplay by : Donald Joh | September 27, 2023 (2023-09-27) |
| 17 | 7 | "Down the Rabbit Hole" | Brad Anderson | Dan Dietz | October 4, 2023 (2023-10-04) |
| 18 | 8 | "Cosmic Ocean" | Claudia Llosa | Aditi Brennan Kapil | October 11, 2023 (2023-10-11) |
| 19 | 9 | "Breakthrough" | Mathias Herndl | Tatiana Suarez-Pico | October 18, 2023 (2023-10-18) |
| 20 | 10 | "Old Friends, New Frontiers" | Mathias Herndl | Simon Kinberg & Dan Dietz | October 25, 2023 (2023-10-25) |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 1 | "The Ones We Leave Behind" | Alik Sakharov | Simon Kinberg | August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22) |
| 22 | 2 | "The Message" | Alik Sakharov | Dan Dietz | August 29, 2025 (2025-08-29) |
| 23 | 3 | "Infinitas" | Sylvain White | Aditi Brennan Kapil | September 5, 2025 (2025-09-05) |
| 24 | 4 | "The Mission" | Sylvain White | Glenise Mullins | September 12, 2025 (2025-09-12) |
| 25 | 5 | "Point of No Return" | Daisy von Scherler Mayer | Donald Joh | September 19, 2025 (2025-09-19) |
| 26 | 6 | "Marilyn" | Daisy von Scherler Mayer | Vivian Barnes | September 26, 2025 (2025-09-26) |
| 27 | 7 | "Outpost 17" | Brad Anderson | Aditi Brennan Kapil | October 3, 2025 (2025-10-03) |
| 28 | 8 | "Life in the Dead Zone" | Alik Sakharov | Dan Dietz | October 10, 2025 (2025-10-10) |
| 29 | 9 | "Homecoming" | Brad Anderson | Vivian Barnes & Glenise Mullins | October 17, 2025 (2025-10-17) |
| 30 | 10 | "The End of the Line" | Alik Sakharov | Simon Kinberg & Demetrios Cokinos | October 24, 2025 (2025-10-24) |
Apple gave an order for ten episodes in January 2019 with Simon Kinberg and David Weil creating and writing, as well as executive-producing with Audrey Chon.[9]Deadline reported that Chad Feehan was briefly brought in as ashowrunner "out of necessity" but soon departed the series in September 2019.[10] When the resumption of filming was announced,Jakob Verbruggen was listed as director and executive producer with Amy Kaufman, Andrew Baldwin and Elisa Ellis also executive producers; however, it was subsequently reported thatAmanda Marsalis had also directed some episodes.[11][12] The first season was reported to have a $200 million budget.[13] On December 8, 2021, Apple renewed the series for a second season.[14] The show was renewed for a third season on February 13, 2024.[7]
Deadline revealed in August 2020 that Neill, Anderson, Farahani, Nassar, and Kutsuna were all to be part of the cast.[11]
Filming was originally planned to start in mid-2019, with Kinberg directing, but was delayed due to his work on the feature filmThe 355.[citation needed] According to a report byDeadline,Invasion planned to film in New York, Manchester, Morocco and Japan. "Portions of the series had been shot in New York and Morocco, and producers were prepping for the UK shoot when thecoronavirus-related industry shutdown started in mid-March."[11] In February 2021, filming occurred in Greenwich, one of the series' last filming locations.[15] Filming for the first season concluded on March 15, 2021.[16]
The series premiered on Apple TV+ on October 22, 2021, with the release of its first three episodes; the first season concluded on December 10, 2021.[3] Its second season premiered on August 23, 2023.[6] The third season premiered on August 22, 2025.[8]
Thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes reported a 48% approval rating with an average rating of 5.6/10, based on 42 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Invasion attempts a slow burn but inadvertently lets its tension completely fizzle out with leaden pacing that will leave viewers impatient for the alien apocalypse to finally arrive."[17]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 51 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[18]
RogerEbert.com reviewer Nick Allen called the series "a thrilling series about people, not aliens", adding that the series "is a refreshing and often thrilling juggling of plot-threads that involve incredibly flawed or hurtful decisions made in the name of survival".[19]
Andrew Webster, writing forThe Verge, said that "Apple'sInvasion feels like the first chapter of a sci-fi epic", adding "This all means that when the aliens do finally appear, it’s a huge deal."[20]
Daniel Fienberg, writing forThe Hollywood Reporter, said that "Invasion verges on 10 episodes of setup so pure and unfulfilling that a better title would beEvasion". He called the series, "amusing at first, then annoying, and finally, simply confusing", but praisedSam Neill's single-episode performance in the pilot.[21]
For the second season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 67% approval rating with an average rating of 6.1/10, based on 12 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "A marked improvement if not a wholehearted vindication,Invasion's second season explores the fallout of an alien takeover with impressive scope."[22] Metacritic gave it a score of 63 out of 100 based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[23] Chase Hutchinson, writing forCollider, said "In its ten-episode return, the science fiction series makes its first season more like a prologue for the story it really wanted to tell."[24]
For the third season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 67% approval rating, based on 6 reviews.[25]
Invasion was nominated in the category ofOutstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, Game Cinematic or Real-Time Project at the22nd Visual Effects Society Awards.[26]
