Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Lucy Mangan

Star City review – Anna Maxwell Martin is terrifying in a fascinating space race thriller

A woman with a formal haircut looks serious while standing against a tiled wall.
Dedicated to the cause … Lyudmilla (Anna Maxwell Martin). Photograph: Apple

Are you ready for a spin-off of a counterfactual drama series? Or is the current air of unreality surrounding actual reality enough for you? If you find yourself in the market for the former, congratulations for your psychological and spiritual robustness – and welcome to Star City.

This is the counterpoint/companion piece to For All Mankind, the creation of Ronald D Moore, Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert that posed the question: what if the Russians had been the first people to land on the moon? And what if the space race never ended? That was – and indeed is, as it is now in its fifth season and been renewed for a sixth and final one – set in the US with the alt-history seen through American eyes. Now Moore and co return with the timeline set behind the iron curtain.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.