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Being successful in television is hard enough, especially when you’re in the shadow of other successful shows. From the moment it premiered in 1999, Roswell faced an uphill battle. The science fiction drama was plagued by creative overhauls, channel hopping, and a vampire slayer known as Buffy.

In 2001 Roswell switched networks, leaving the WB for a new home at UPN. The show was also facing an identity crisis, unsure if it wanted to be a teen drama or a science fiction show. Looking back, Maria DeLuca actress Majandra Delfino can see the clear distinction between the WB era and the UPN era.

“The amount of leather in the wardrobe ramped up as we moved. It felt very different. Season 1 to season 2 to me are two totally different shows,” Delfino says while at Seattle's Emerald City Comic Con 2025 this weekend.

You can watch the full panel here, filmed on the Main Stage powered by Xfinity here:

“Part of that was network and network notes. Part of it was introducing new writers and co-showrunners with Ron Moore coming in,” Michael Guerin actor Brendan Fehr recalls. Fehr is talking about Ronald D. Moore, a seasoned science fiction writer who was brought in to overhaul the series.

“Obviously, there’s behind-the-scenes politics in doing all of that, but you could feel that…..I don’t exactly know what we were chasing,” Fehr continues. “I don’t know if we were trying to catch up to Buffy ratings. Obviously, you’re always chasing ratings and success, but I don’t know if we were chasing that. Sometimes it kind of felt like we were chasing our own tail. But I mean, it was one of those because of the nature of the show, where you have a guy like Jason Katims, who does what he does best, those relationships.”

“Whether it’s a sci-fi element that’s the backdrop, or football with Friday Night Lights, that’s kind of where he lives and breathes and does his best work. The good episodes managed to really ride that knife’s edge of both of those,” Fehr concludes.

You can watch Out of this World: A Roswell Cast Reunion from ECCC 2025's Main Stage powered by Xfinity for yourself as part of Popverse's all-encompasing coverage of Emerald City Comic Con 2025. Be there from anywhere.

Here's how to watch Roswell (and its spinoffs and reboot) in order.