Noah Wyle isn’t a doctor, but he plays one on TV. The actor first rose to fame as Dr. John Carter in 11 seasons of the genre-defining ’90s medical drama ER, and recently won an Emmy for his performance as Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch in The Pitt, which returns with Season 2 this week. In between stints in scrubs, however, Wyle put down his stethoscope to fight aliens in the post-apocalyptic sci-fi series Falling Skies. 

Now available to watch on Netflix, Falling Skies premiered in 2011 and ran for five seasons. The series, which was executive produced by Steven Spielberg, follows Wyle as history professor Tom Mason, who joins humanity’s fight against alien invaders who killed his wife and kidnapped one of his three sons. Read on for more.

What happens in Falling Skies?

Falling Skies opens six months into an alien occupation of Earth that has wiped out 90% of Earth’s population and destroyed all major cities. Recent widower and former history teacher Tom Mason (Wyle) and two of his sons, Hal (Drew Roy) and Matt (Maxim Knight), are part of a group of armed rebels, while his third son, Ben (Connor Jessup), has been missing for months, taken by the alien foe. Food is running low, the enemy is closing in, and the group’s doctor, Anne Glass (Moon Bloodgood), is concerned for her patients. Tom, Hal, and the other soldiers regularly risk their lives to scrounge for dwindling supplies in the wreckage of Boston. Rebellion leader Colonel Porter (Dale Dye), seeing their growing desperation, decides to split his forces into smaller factions. He charges retired army captain Dan Weaver (Will Patton) with leadership of the “2nd Massachusetts,” and Tom is named Dan’s second-in-command despite their opposing styles: Dan’s focus is largely on defeating their adversaries, while Tom shows more care for their people’s day-to-day lives.

When the newly formed 2nd Mass heads out of the city, Hal and his friend Karen (Jessy Schram) stumble on Ben. In addition to conquering the planet, the invaders — called “Skitters” for their creepy-crawly appearance — have been abducting children and enslaving them using “harnesses,” mind-control devices embedded in their spines. No one has figured out how to remove the harnesses without killing the kids, but Tom and Hal insist on trying to get Ben back. As the survivors seek out a safe place to call home, questions about the kidnappings and the aliens’ ultimate goal come to a head, and Tom’s knowledge of historical military strategy proves useful time and again in the fight against their extraterrestrial overlords.

Who’s in the cast of Falling Skies? 

• Noah Wyle (The Pitt) as Tom Mason
• Moon Bloodgood (Terminator Salvation) as Anne Glass
• Drew Roy (Secretariat) as Hal Mason
• Connor Jessup (Locke & Key) as Ben Mason
• Maxim Knight (Medeas) as Matt Mason
• Will Patton (Train Dreams) as Dan Weaver
• Sarah Carter (Rogue) as Margaret “Maggie” May
• Colin Cunningham (Stargate SG-1) as John Pope
• Seychelle Gabriel (The Legend of Korra) as Lourdes Delgado
• Jessy Schram (Chicago Med) as Karen Nadler
• Mpho Koaho (Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency) as Anthony
• Peter Shinkoda (The Predator) as Dai
• Doug Jones (Hellboy) as Cochise

Solve new word, logic, and visual puzzles daily

Starstruck

Work out where the stars shine.

Play

Sudoku

Solve the classic numbers game.

Play

Jigsaw

Piece together the big picture.

Play

Shapes

Turn shapes into something bigger.

Play

Crossover

Swap letters and emojis into words.

Play

Waywords

Find the path hidden in words.

Play

Keysmash

Just add vowels.

Play

Bonza

Put the words back together.

Play

Explore More Puzzles