Who Are the ‘Hunters’ in Syfy’s Latest Series?

Fandom Staff
TV
TV
Presented by

Syfy’s Hunters is a thrilling crime drama with a sci-fi twist. The series is based on the best-selling novel Alien Hunter and executive produced by Gale Ann Hurd (The Walking Dead, The Terminator, and Aliens). When an FBI agent’s wife disappears, he is thrown into a secret government agency dedicated to tracking down a group of extraterrestrial terrorists called “Hunters.” Just who are these mysterious creatures?

They Look Human, But…

hunters-flynn
Flynn inspects something that is less than human.

Looks can be deceiving. By extracting DNA samples, Hunters can take human form, but the similarity is surface level at best. Underneath human skin and blood, the Hunters anatomy is completely alien. Their origin is not known, and they are extremely strong and seemingly impervious to close-range gunshots. Hunters have a heightened sense of hearing and use clicks and echolocation to communicate, creating a language indecipherable to the human ear. Their impulses — sexual urges, hunger, and rage — are intense and difficult to control, making them animalistic in nature and extremely dangerous.

They Are Hiding in Plain Sight

hunters-mccarthy
Hunter McCarthy

Due to their ability to disguise themselves as humans, Hunters live in society and their true identities are often unknown to their closest friends and family. There are organized Hunter cells hidden and scattered around the world, some operating as large and profitable drug traffickers. The cells work independently but are interconnected, and they are constantly monitoring humans.

One of the more prominent Hunters is Lionel McCarthy, a professional DJ, who sends encoded messages to other Hunters through Spotify playlists. The Hunter leader is named Brother No. 4, and he has orchestrated multiple attacks against humans. There are also sleeper Hunter agents who have infiltrated the highest levels of government.

Essentially, Hunters are everywhere.

Hunting the Hunters

hunters-regan-briggs

The Exo-Terrorism Unit, or ETU, is a highly classified and well-trained government organization dedicated to neutralizing the threat of Hunters to civilization. The ETU has extensively studied, captured, or killed subjects, and they’ve reverse-engineered sonic guns to take down the audio sensitive Hunters.

Key ETU members include Jackson, a compassionate leader; Regan, a valuable but unpredictable operative who also happens to be a Hunter; and Briggs, a skilled operative who has a personal vendetta against the Hunters. Newest to the team is Flynn, a former FBI agent recruited to the ETU after his wife is kidnapped by McCarthy. Flynn soon discovers both he and his wife may have closer ties to the alien beings than he wants to acknowledge.

Their Goals Are Unknown

The government has been aware of the Hunters’ existence since 2009 and knows they are part of a larger international operation. The ETU was able to decode one of McCarthy’s recent messages, a warning that ominously stated, “The end begins now.”

It’s now a race against time, as the ETU knows the Hunters are starting to activate a coordinated plan and possible attack. But beyond that, no one knows what the Hunters’ end game is, other than that is it not likely to be a peaceful one.

Find out more when Hunters premieres on Syfy UK on Aug. 31.

Fandom Staff