Slow Cinema - like Jarmusch's Mystery Train - establishes the reality of a place, of a world, in great detail. Same with works such as Goodbye Dragon Inn. In Slow Cinema movies we are definitely at a specific place - hearing the sounds carefully, seeing the sunlight or movie theater projector lights, seeing shadows in the night. Alien: Earth offers the same - it's like being at a real place. The production design, the cinematography, the editing - it all establishes the reality well. You can chill out and think about things while being inside the world of Alien: Earth. It's very much Slow Cinema.
Alien: Earth is also boring at times - like Slow Cinema movies. You can zone out of the story in front of you, half-register it, while thinking about related matters. The attempt to create immortality for humans, the worlds that the space aliens are from, the political system and history of Earth shown in the TV show - stuff to think about, somewhat similar to stuff you can think about regarding colonialism when you watch Lav Diaz movies.
But, sometimes Alien: Earth can be surprising. Like in Episode 5 - where we see a lot of the action that took place on the spaceship before it crashed to Earth. New information is revealed about a central character. New images and sounds that affect the plot are shown. And it's done in a luxurious way - rich cinematography, sound, editing - much like the texture and feel of many great Slow Cinema movies - such as Uncle Boonmee.
A lot of film and TV critics in the US have no idea about Slow Cinema. They laugh at the idea - satisfied in their ignorance. They exist just to comment on mainstream Hollywood movies and TV shows and maintain their free access to movies. However, those who know - know - Alien: Earth is not the best written TV show, but it has a certain unmistakable Slow Cinema vibe - it's a hangout show, it's a place to be and think about things.
