For All Mankind has been putting a twist on history and space travel since the first season premiered for viewers with an Apple TV+ subscription back in 2019, going back to the original moon landing in 1969 and jumping ahead in time in subsequent seasons. Now, with Season 4 on the way, one major cast member is being bumped down from series regular status, and I'm already bummed to be seeing a lot less of her after losing two other key characters at the end of Season 3. Prepare to say goodbye to Jodi Balfour as Ellen Waverly!
Jodi Balfour will not reprise her role as former astronaut and later President of the United States Ellen Waverly as a series regular, according to TVLine. The actress will reportedly appear in Season 4, however, which hopefully means that For All Mankind will bring her back long enough for some closure.
Apple TV+ has not yet commented on the change in Balfour's status at the time of writing. It's likely safe to say that Ellen is in a very different place in Season 4 than she was in Season 3, as the third season ended on a time jump from the mid-'90s to 2003, complete with a Radiohead song as a nod to the new millennium.
The Season 3 finale of one of the best Apple TV+ shows was eventful for Ellen, even though the time jump cliffhanger was centered on the reveal that Margo had survived the deadly bombing at the JSC and sought refuge in the Soviet Union after betraying NASA. After risking everything by coming out as a lesbian during a press conference, Ellen paid a visit to Pam.
That episode didn't definitively settle whether she would remain President after the press conference, but the time jump ahead eight years should mean that her time as POTUS is over no matter what. Could she simply retire into a more peaceful life, making it unnecessary for For All Mankind to continue her story? Or something slightly less idyllic?
After all, this show doesn't often go the idyllic route for characters, and I for one am still sad about how the Season 3 finale killed off both Karen Baldwin and Molly Cobb, with the latter's demise happening off screen. The loss of Molly and Karen was already a downer, even after the For All Mankind bosses explained why the deaths happened. Losing Ellen – even if under less tragic circumstances – isn't making me more excited for Season 4.
Still, I'm not going to let myself get any more pessimistic than being bummed until we have some clues about how the show will write Jodi Balfour as Ellen out. The executive producers explained their long term plans for the show last year when For All Mankind was renewed for Season 4, but Ellen's future was not among what they previewed. Apple TV+ also has not yet confirmed when the series will return with new episodes, although I'm not expecting it to join the lineup in the 2023 TV schedule. For now, we may have to settle for revisiting the first three seasons!
