Apple’s Smartest Sci-Fi Series Takes a Dramatic Turn

Image: Apple TV

The alternate-history drama For All Mankind on Apple TV+ traces a timeline where the Space Race was won not by America, but by the Soviet Union, beginning with Alexei Leonov’s 1969 moon landing. Since its debut, the series has consistently leaped forward by a decade each season, tracking the cascading consequences of that history. With season 5 currently unfolding in a 2012 where Martian colonization is a reality, the creators are now pivoting. They’re returning to the roots of their alternate reality with Star City, a spinoff centered on the Soviet side of the space race—only this time, the narrative will unfold at a much more deliberate pace.

“Our goal for this series isn’t to leap forward a decade with every season; instead, we want to deliver a compelling, continuous story rooted in the ’70s,” explains co-creator and co-showrunner Matt Wolpert to Polygon. “It’s a massive relief to not have to concern ourselves with how our characters have aged or where they end up ten years down the line. Being able to pick up the narrative just a day or a week later feels like a creative breath of fresh air.”

Wolpert’s fascination with the Soviet space program deepened during the development of For All Mankind. While the original series has certainly featured Star City—the nerve center of the Soviet endeavor—the focus remained heavily anchored on NASA’s American perspective. This spinoff offers the writers a chance to pivot toward a drastically different genre, shifting away from the high-concept science fiction of the primary series.

“Stepping into a Cold War-era paranoid thriller was a compelling shift for us,” Wolpert noted. “We are exploring the lives of cosmonauts and engineers confined within an isolated city, living side-by-side with intelligence officers who track their every move and eavesdrop on every conversation. It’s all about capturing that pervasive atmosphere of suspicion and the inability to trust those around you.”

Star City makes its debut on Apple TV+ with its first two episodes on May 29. Subsequent episodes will roll out every Friday through July 10.

Source: Polygon