Is Roswell, New Mexico woke?
TV Show · 2019
Roswell, New Mexico has a wokeness score of 7/10, which we rate as Strongly Ideological. Woke messaging is very prominent and often feels forced or shoehorned in. Characters and plot are primarily shaped to serve the ideology. Many viewers feel the agenda overshadows the entertainment.
Key points
- Centers Latina protagonist Liz Ortecho, critiquing Trump-era border policies and ICE via immigrant family storyline.
- Reimagines Michael Guerin as bisexual in romance with gay veteran Alex, portraying conservatives as homophobic villains.
- Uses alien metaphor for Islamophobia and anti-immigrant bigotry, with pro-choice depictions and checklist diversity.
Wokeness analysis
Roswell, New Mexico exemplifies heavily ideological television where progressive messaging permeates the narrative, often at the expense of pure escapism or character-driven storytelling. From the pilot episode, the show introduces explicit political commentary by centering Liz Ortecho, a Latina biomedical researcher and daughter of undocumented Mexican immigrants, whose return to Roswell highlights ICE checkpoints, deportation fears, and funding cuts for her project explicitly blamed on 'someone needed funding for a wall'—a clear jab at Trump-era border policies. Showrunner Carina Adly MacKenzie openly stated the alien storyline serves as a metaphor for Islamophobia and anti-immigrant bigotry, reversing the original series' whitewashed casting to emphasize diversity and 'representation' of marginalized groups, including Latinx leads and Native American characters like Rosa Ortecho. Michael Guerin, originally straight, is reimagined as bisexual in a prominent romance with Alex Manes, a gay Air Force veteran abused by his homophobic military father, ticking LGBTQ+ inclusion boxes while portraying conservative figures as villains. Abortion access is positively depicted through Isobel Evans-Bracken, reinforcing pro-choice indoctrination. User reviews and critics frequently note these elements feel shoehorned—clunky dialogue like Liz's father's deportation woes interrupts sci-fi mystery, and pacing suffers from 'jarring political messages' that alienate viewers seeking alien escapism. Diversity feels checklist-driven: Latina family, queer aliens/humans, multi-racial cast, all integrated to lecture on racism, xenophobia, and homophobia rather than advancing plot organically. While some praise 'modern sensibilities,' many conservative-leaning audiences decry it as CW-style forced wokeness overshadowing entertainment, with characters shaped to serve ideology—racists as hypocrites, immigrants as sympathetic victims, traditional values as bigoted. This message-driven approach dominates, especially in early seasons, making viewers feel preached at amid underdeveloped mysteries and melodrama.
Plot
Roswell, New Mexico is a sci-fi drama reboot of the 1999 Roswell series. Biomedical scientist Liz Ortecho returns to her hometown after losing her grant, reconnecting with high school crush Max Evans, a deputy who heals her from a lab accident using alien powers. Max, along with siblings Michael Guerin and Isobel Evans, are extraterrestrials crash-landed as children, hiding among humans. As Liz protects their secret amid rekindled romance, a murder investigation reveals more aliens and government conspiracies like Project Shepard. The series spans four seasons, blending romance, family drama, and supernatural threats in the UFO-famous town, with interpersonal conflicts, hybrid resurrections, and interstellar portals culminating in the finale.
Analyzed by AI on February 23, 2026