The CW isn’t holding anything back in the upcoming Roswell, New Mexico.
Alien explosions and sexy hookups are par for the course in the series’ debut Comic-Con trailer, which introduces first-time viewers and veteran fans alike to the rebooted world of Roswell. But this series, while still centered on the classic Max and Liz love story, has shuffled the cards just a bit. The trailer has totally cranked up the show’s drama, giving off some real Riverdale-in-the-middle-of-the-desert vibes. You’ve got an alien origin story, relationship drama, tense alien-human relations, and what look like a string of pulpy mysteries at the heart of it all.
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Compared to the high school-aged characters of the original Roswell show, Max, Liz, and their friends and family are older this time around. Max and Liz — he’s a police officer, and she’s a biomedical researcher now — reconnect years after growing up together when she returns to her hometown to visit her parents, who are undocumented Mexican immigrants.
Of course, drama inevitably ensues. The pair sparks up a romance, and Max is revealed to be an alien-human hybrid who’s kept his extraterrestrial abilities under wraps his whole life for fear of social isolation, scientific scrutiny, or worse.
The trailer is heavy on the supernatural (some creepy glowing, shimmering alien pods make an early appearance) but there are also some hints of modern-day politics on the fringes that might be interesting to explore. Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, creator Carina Adly MacKenzie — who was also wearing an “Abolish ICE” shirt at the interview — hinted at tackling different social issues in the show.
"When the world wasn't burning, I would've been cool to write the high school version of the show," she told THR. "[But] I want this show to feel like smart conversations with smart people who aren't on the same side of the issues all of the time."
Roswell, New Mexico premieres its first season on The CW in 2019.