Netflix's 2-Part Sci-Fi Series Was Secretly A Battlestar Galactica Reunion

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Published Apr 27, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT

El is a Junior TV Features Editor for ScreenRant, with previous experience as The Mary Sue's UK and Weekend Editor. She holds a Bachelor's in International Media and Entertainment Management, as well as an MA and Ph.D. in Creative Writing. There is little she loves more than discussing her favorite TV shows with fellow fans. One day, she hopes to publish an original fantasy novel.

Seven years ago, Netflix launched a new two-part sci-fi series, setting up an unexpected Battlestar Galactica reunion in the process. Battlestar Galactica's reboot is widely and deservedly seen as one of the greatest science fiction stories of the 21st century. Inspired by the original 1978 series created by television legend Glen A. Larson, 2003's Battlestar Galactica prequel miniseries and 2004's Battlestar Galactica introduced current sci-fi icon Katee Sackhoff as Captain Starbuck, forever cementing the actress as one of the leading stars of science fiction television.

While Sackhoff has enjoyed dozens of great roles since Battlestar's finale in 2009, including parts in A&E's Western crime drama Longmire and fellow space-faring franchise Star Wars, Sackhoff formally returned to her Battlestar Galactica leadership roots in Netflix's two-season sci-fi drama Another Life. Created by Aaron Martin, Another Life follows Sackhoff's Commanding Officer Niko Breckenridge and her crew as they undertake a dangerous interstellar mission to establish contact with an alien race after an unidentified object crashes on Earth.

While Another Life season 1's most recognizable actors were Sackhoff, Selma Blair, Shameless' Justin Chatwin, and Teen Wolf's Tyler Hoechlin, the show's sophomore season cast two of Sackhoff's Battlestar Galactica co-stars: Rekha Sharma, who played scientist and refugee Tory Foster for a total of 32 episodes in Battlestar seasons 2, 3, and 4, and Kate Vernon, who played Colonel Saul Tigh's wife, Ellen Tigh, for 25 episodes, appearing intermittently throughout all four seasons of the show.

In Another Life season 2, Sharma plays Dr. Ursula Monroe, the creator of the Salvare's ship AI. She eventually joins Niko's crew and becomes an integral player in defeating Another Life's alien threat. Vernon, meanwhile, portrays Niko's mother, Ava Breckenridge, who helps protect Niko's daughter, Jana (Lina Renna), back on Earth when the alien invasion turns hostile.

Netflix's Another Life Never Lived Up To Its Potential

Niko looking at the camera in Another Life.

Split between Niko's mission on the Salvare and her husband Erik's (Chatwin) quest to find out the purpose of the crashed UFO back on Earth, the Netflix Original series' first season blends story elements from some of the genre's most iconic franchises, including Alien, Arrival, and yes, Battlestar Galactica.

Unfortunately, Another Life's first season was bogged down by its need to include every known sci-fi trope under the sun, leaving little room for character development. Every painfully brief, quiet character moment in the show is interrupted by some catastrophic event, from mutiny to murder to parasitic infections growing inside the crew's bodies. Sounds familiar, no?

The ship's constantly rotating crew didn't help season 1's lack of narrative focus. With multiple replacement characters waiting in the ship's somatic sleep chambers, it was difficult to feel any connection to Niko's fellow astronauts. Remembering their names felt pointless. When a character's most defining trait is how much they can shout and swear at their co-workers, what is there to care about?

Thankfully, after Another Life scored a somewhat surprising season 2 renewal from Netflix, the series found its groove, focusing more on the actual alien invasion and its implications for Earth and the galaxy at large rather than one-off action sequences and over-the-top drama. Rekha Sharma and Kate Vernon chose the right time to join the show. While still far (very, very far) from reaching the heights of Battlestar Galactica or Star Wars' The Mandalorian, Another Life's second season incorporated some interesting ideas, including the long-term effects of colonization and the consequences of creating sentient AI.

An improved second outing wasn't enough to save the Netflix show from an eventual cancellation, however. After season 2 premiered on the streamer in 2021, Netflix canceled Another Life, with Sackhoff lamenting the loss on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, writing that she wished they "could do more seasons," but that it "sadly just [wasn't] in the cards."

Another Life was far from a sci-fi masterpiece, but Sackhoff made the best of it, admirably carrying the weight of a messy, at times even goofy sci-fi show on her well-shaped shoulders. Anyone looking to replicate the Battlestar Galactica experience is better off watching (or rewatching) Battlestar Galactica, however, which will finally return to streaming on Paramount+ and PlutoTV from May 1.

All episodes of Another Life are streaming now on Netflix.