It's time to see things from behind the Iron Curtain, as Apple TV just dropped the first trailer for "Star City", the "For All Mankind" spin-off that tells the story from a Soviet perspective. Our ability to see through the lens of different perspectives is a valued virtue of humanity, and we can't wait to see what Apple does with this one.
The fifth season of Apple TV’s "For All Mankind" arrives on March 27, 2026, with a fresh 10-episode outing that expands the alt-history story of a timeline where Russia put boots on the moon before America. And we've now got a new spinoff with a Soviet twist prepped on the launch pad with first images.
Lifting off for an 8-episode debut season on May 29, 2026, "Star City" is Apple TV's upcoming "For All Mankind" companion created by Ronald D. Moore, Ben Nedivi, and Matt Wolpert. To whet fans' appetite for more space race drama served up Russian-style, Apple TV has shared a collection of photos that we’ve gathered the best of below, revealing characters, tone, and set design.
Similar to "For All Mankind," "Star City" presents a fictional version of global history that finds the USA not planting the stars and stripes in lunar soil in 1969, and instead, it was Russia. While the flagship show depicts the advancing timeline from an American point of view, "Star City" sticks us firmly behind the ominous Iron Curtain to see how things shook out over in the Soviet Union.
Here we’re offered what's sure to be a fascinating glimpse into the complex lives and loves of cosmonauts, scientists, engineers, researchers, intelligence leaders, and espionage agents working within the Soviet space program and their sacrifices made for the benefit of Earth.
"I didn't know a lot about the Russian space program before I started doing this project," Moore told Collider in a 2024 SDCC interview.
"I knew an awful lot about the American program, but I think most Americans don't know a lot of details about that. It was pretty ballsy stuff that they did. The spacecraft were not quite as reliable as ours were; they lost a lot of good people on them. The conditions were tough. They also had things like the KGB being around and hanging out in mission control, so there's a lot of espionage and Cold War kind of environments that you're dealing with in that particular show. So, it's a familiar tale in terms of the narrative for people who watch 'Mankind.'"
"Star City's" ensemble cast includes Rhys Ifans, Anna Maxwell Martin, Agnes O’Casey, Alice Englert, Solly McLeod, Adam Nagaitis, Ruby Ashbourne Serkis, Josef Davies, and Priya Kansara. As with "For All Mankind," this project is produced by Sony Pictures Television. Wolpert and Nedivi serve as series showrunners and executive producers with Ronald D. Moore and Maril Davis from Tall Ship Productions, and Andrew Chambliss and Steve Oster.
"Star City" arrives on May 29, 2026, with plenty of chilly oppressive USSR atmosphere for a two-episode premiere exclusively on Apple TV, followed by new single episodes each Friday through July 10.
