Season 1
Aliens in America is an American television sitcom created by David Guarascio and Moses Port about a Wisconsin teenager and the foreign exchange student his mother arranges to host, believing the visitor will help her socially awkward son become more popular. The student turns out to be a Muslim teenager from Pakistan.
The series originally aired in the USA on The CW from 1 October, 2007 to 18 May, 2008. There are 18 half-hour episodes in one season. The show was officially cancelled by The CW on 9 May, 2008.
Aliens in America premiered in South Africa on SABC3 on Monday 26 May 2008, at 19h30.
Synopsis
Justin Tolchuck is a sensitive, lanky 16-year old just trying to make it through the social nightmare of high school in Medora, Wisconsin, with the help of his well-meaning mom Franny, aspiring-entrepreneur dad Gary and his beautiful and popular younger sister Claire.
Although he's bright and funny, Justin is also shy, socially awkward and pretty much resigned to the fact that he'll never be one of the cool kids.
Franny, however, is the kind of take-charge mom who micro-manages her family, and she's come up with a plan to help Justin: she signs up for the school's international exchange student program.
Picturing an athletic, brilliant Nordic teen, Franny is sure this new friendship will bestow instant coolness on her outsider son.
However, when the Tolchuck's exchange student arrives, he turns out to be Raja Musharaff, a 16-year-old Muslim from a small village in Pakistan.
Raja is thoughtful, responsible and wise beyond his years. To the Tolchucks and everyone else in Medora, he's also just about as foreign as a foreigner can be.
While the rest of the family is slightly freaked out by the Muslim in their midst, Gary is comforted by the fact that the host family receives a monthly cheque to help with expenses. This fits right in with Gary's money-making schemes, and when he sees how hard-working and respectful Raja is, he's totally on board.
As for Claire, she's too busy with her friends and her new boyfriend to pay much attention to their houseguest, but Raja is smitten from the moment he first sees her.
After the initial shock wears off, Justin is quickly won over by Raja's humour, gestures of friendship and by their common status as outsiders. Despite the cultural chasm between them, Justin and Raja develop an unlikely bond that just might allow them to navigate the minefield that is contemporary high school.
It's going to be a very interesting year for Raja, Justin, his family and the entire population of Medora.