''For All Mankind'' is an American hard science fiction

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television series created by

Ronald D. Moore Ronald Dowl Moore (born July 5, 1964) is an American screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for his work on ''Star Trek''; on the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series, for which he won a Peabody Award and an Em ...

, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi and produced for

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

. The series dramatizes an

alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...

depicting "what would have happened if the global

space race The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the tw ...

had never ended" after the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

succeeds in the first crewed Moon landing ahead of the United States. The title is inspired by the lunar plaque left on the Moon by the crew of

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...

, which reads, in part, "We Came in Peace for All Mankind". The series stars an ensemble cast including

Joel Kinnaman Charles Joel Nordström Kinnaman (; born 25 November 1979) is a Swedish-American actor and model who first gained recognition for his roles in the Swedish film ''Easy Money'' and the '' Johan Falk'' crime series. Kinnaman is known international ...

Michael Dorman Michael Dorman (born 26 April 1981) is a New Zealand actor, best known for his starring roles as NASA astronaut Gordo Stevens in the Apple TV+ original science fiction space drama series ''For All Mankind'' and as John Tavner in the comedy-drama ...

, Sarah Jones, Shantel VanSanten,

Jodi Balfour Jodi Balfour (born October 29, 1986) is a South African film and television actress, known for her role as Gladys Witham in the Canadian television drama series ''Bomb Girls'' and Ellen Waverly Wilson in the Apple TV+ space drama series '' For Al ...

Wrenn Schmidt Melinda Wrenn Schmidt (born February 18, 1983) is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as NASA engineer, flight director and later Director of NASA Margo Madison in the Apple TV+ original science fiction space drama serie ...

, Sonya Walger, and Krys Marshall. Cynthy Wu, Casey W. Johnson, and

Coral Peña Coral Peña (born ) is an American actor. She is known for playing the role of NASA flight director Aleida Rosales on the Apple TV+ series '' For All Mankind''. Early life and education Peña was born in the Dominican Republic city of Santo Doming ...

joined the main cast for the second season, and

Edi Gathegi Edi Mūe Gathegi (born March 10, 1979) is a Kenyan-American actor. He appeared as recurring character Dr. Jeffrey Cole (aka "Big Love") in the television series '' House'', as Cheese in the 2007 film ''Gone Baby Gone'', Laurent in the films ''Twi ...

joined in the third. The series features historical figures (played by actors or appearing through archival footage) including

astronauts

Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. ...

Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin (; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission. As the Lunar Module ''Eagle'' pilot on the 1969 A ...

, and

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

, Mercury Seven astronaut Deke Slayton, rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, astronaut

Sally Ride Sally Kristen Ride (May 26, 1951 – July 23, 2012) was an American astronaut and physicist. Born in Los Angeles, she joined NASA in 1978, and in 1983 became the first American woman and the third woman to fly in space, after cosmonauts V ...

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

administrator

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

, NASA flight director Gene Kranz,

U.S. senators The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...

Gary Hart Gary Warren Hart (''né'' Hartpence; born November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination until he dropped out amid revelations of extramarital affairs. ...

and

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

, along with

U.S. presidents The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term Term may refer to: * Terminology, or term, a noun or compound word used in a specific context, in pa ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. ''For All Mankind'' premiered on November 1, 2019. The show's second season was critically acclaimed and was nominated for the

TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Drama The TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Drama is an award given by the Television Critics Association. Winners and nominees Multiple wins 4 wins * ''The Sopranos'' 3 wins * ''The Americans'' (2 consecutive) * '' Homicide: Life on the Stree ...

. In July 2022, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on November 10, 2023. In 2023, the writers said that, from the beginning, they had discussed that their goal was that there would be "about seven seasons" and that the story will span "at least 70 years". In April 2024, the series was renewed for a fifth season, and it was announced that a spinoff series titled ''Star City'' was in development, focusing on the Soviet space program.

Premise

In an alternate timeline in 1969, Soviet cosmonaut

Alexei Leonov Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov. (30 May 1934 – 11 October 2019) was a Soviet and Russian cosmonaut, Air Force major general, writer, and artist. On 18 March 1965, he became the first person to conduct a spacewalk, exiting the capsule during th ...

becomes the first human to land on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

. This outcome devastates morale at NASA but also catalyzes a U.S. effort to catch up. With the Soviet Union emphasizing diversity by including a woman in subsequent landings, the United States is forced to match pace, training women and minorities who were largely excluded from the initial decades of U.S. space exploration. Each subsequent season takes place 10 years later, with season two taking place in the 1980s, season three taking place in the 1990s, and season four taking place in the 2000s. Ronald D. Moore explained how historical reality had been different from the series: " Sergei Korolev was the father of the Soviet space program; in our reality, he died during an operation in Moscow (in 1966) ... And after that point, their Moon program really never pulled together.... Our point of divergence was that Korolev lives, ... and he made their Moon landing happen."

Cast and characters

as Edward "Ed" Baldwin, one of NASA's top astronauts, initially based on Apollo 10 commander

Thomas P. Stafford Thomas Patten Stafford (born September 17, 1930) is an American former Air Force officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, and one of 24 people who flew to the Moon. He also served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1969 to 1971. After grad ...

as Gordon "Gordo" Stevens (seasons 1–2), an astronaut and Ed's best friend, based on Apollo 10's lunar module pilot Gene Cernan * Sarah Jones as Tracy Stevens (seasons 1–2), Gordo's wife who later also becomes an astronaut as one of "Nixon's Women" * Shantel VanSanten as Karen Baldwin (seasons 1–3; guest season 4), Ed's wife who later owns the Outpost Tavern and then becomes head of Helios Aerospace *

as Ellen Wilson (née Waverly) (seasons 1–3; guest season 4), an astronaut and member of "Nixon's Women" who later becomes Administrator of NASA, a United States senator and president of the United States following the 1992 presidential election *

as Margo Madison, a NASA engineer who was mentored by Wernher von Braun, inspired by

Margaret Hamilton Margaret Hamilton may refer to: * Margaret Hamilton (nurse) (1840–1922), American nurse in the Civil War * Maggie Hamilton (1867–1952), Scottish artist * Margaret Hamilton (educator) (1871–1969), American educator * Margaret Hamilton (actre ...

* Sonya Walger as Molly Cobb (seasons 2–3; recurring season 1), an astronaut and member of "Nixon's Women", based on

Jerrie Cobb Geraldyn M. Cobb (March 5, 1931 – March 18, 2019), commonly known as Jerrie Cobb, was an American aviator. She was also part of the Mercury 13, a group of women who underwent physiological screening tests at the same time as the original Merc ...

* Krys Marshall as Danielle Poole (season 2–present; recurring season 1), an astronaut and member of "Nixon's Women" * Cynthy Wu as Kelly Baldwin (née Hanh Nguyen, before adoption) (season 2–present), a scientist and Ed and Karen's adopted daughter * Casey W. Johnson as Danny Stevens (seasons 2–3; guest season 4), an astronaut and Gordo and Tracy's son ** Jason David and Mason Thames as young Danny Stevens (recurring season 1) *

as Aleida Rosales (season 2–present), an undocumented immigrant who is fascinated by space and later gets mentored by Margo ** Olivia Trujillo as young Aleida Rosales (recurring season 1) *

as Dev Ayesa (season 3–present), the founder of Helios Aerospace, a private space company with the goal to reach

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

before NASA and the Soviet Union *

Toby Kebbell Tobias Alistair Patrick Kebbell''Births, Marriages & Deaths: Toby is married to Arielle Wyatt. They got married in 2020 and they have one child together. Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 9 July 1982) is an English ...

as Miles Dale (season 4), a former offshore oil platform worker who pursues a new job opportunity on Mars * Tyner Rushing as Samantha Massey (season 4), a space worker on the Mars colony * Svetlana Efremova as Irina Morozova (season 4), a high-ranking Soviet official * Daniel Stern as Eli Hobson (season 4), the new administrator of NASA

Episodes

Season 1 (2019)

Season 2 (2021)

Season 3 (2022)

Season 4 (2023–24)

Production

Development

According to Ronald D. Moore, the idea of the show came about during lunch with former NASA astronaut

Garrett Reisman Garrett Erin Reisman (; born February 10, 1968) is an American engineer and former NASA astronaut. He was a backup crew member for Expedition 15 and joined Expedition 16 aboard the International Space Station for a short time before becoming a me ...

, when they discussed the possibility of an alternate history in which the Soviets reached the Moon before the Americans. On December 15, 2017, it was announced that Apple had given the production a one-season series order. The series was created by

, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi. Maril Davis serves as executive producer alongside Moore, Wolpert, and Nedivi. Production companies involved with the series include Sony Pictures Television and

Tall Ship Productions Ronald Dowl Moore (born July 5, 1964) is an American screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for his work on '' Star Trek''; on the re-imagined '' Battlestar Galactica'' television series, for which he won a Peabody Award and a ...

. On October 5, 2018, it was announced that the series had been officially titled ''For All Mankind''. The series was renewed for a second season in October 2019. On November 19, 2020, it was announced that the second season would premiere on February 19, 2021. On December 8, 2020, ahead of the second-season premiere, Apple TV+ renewed the series for a third season. On July 22, 2022, Apple TV+ renewed the series for a fourth season. In April 2024, the series was renewed for a fifth season.

Casting

In August 2018, it was announced that

, Sarah Jones, Shantel VanSanten, and

had been cast in main roles and that Eric Ladin,

Arturo Del Puerto Arturo del Puerto is an American actor known for his roles on '' Fear the Walking Dead'', ''Chicago P.D.,'' ''Ride Along 2'', and the Apple TV+ original science fiction space drama series '' For All Mankind.'' Biography Del Puerto is half Puert ...

, and

Rebecca Wisocky Rebecca Wisocky (born November 12, 1971) is an American actress. Best known for her role as Evelyn Powell in the Lifetime comedy-drama series ''Devious Maids'' (2013–16), as of 2021 she is starring as Hetty Woodstone on the CBS sitcom ''Ghosts' ...

would appear in a recurring capacity. In October 2018, it was reported that

had been cast in a series regular role. In November 2020, Cynthy Wu,

and Casey W. Johnson had been cast in main roles for the second season. Also, Krys Marshall and Sonya Walger were promoted to the main cast for the second season. In December 2020, Michaela Conlin joined the cast in a supporting role for the second season. In June 2021, it was reported that

joined the season three cast as a series regular. For the fourth season, Daniel Stern,

, Tyner Rushing and Svetlana Efremova were cast as series regulars. In July 2024, Mireille Enos and

Costa Ronin Konstantin "Costa" Ronin (born 3 February 1979) is an Australian actor and cinematographer, best known for appearances in '' Red Dog'', as Gregorovich on the SBS drama ''East West 101'', as Oleg Igorevich Burov in the FX drama ''The Americans'' ...

were cast in series regular roles for the fifth season.

Filming

Principal photography for the series commenced in August 2018 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California. In March 2019, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported that filming had concluded. The filming for the second season began on December 24, 2019. On August 17, 2020, production on second season resumed after the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

halt, and the final two episodes were filmed. Filming for the third season began on February 25, 2021 and concluded in mid-September 2021. Filming for the fourth season began in August 2022, and had wrapped by January 2023. Filming for the fifth season began in July 2024.

Music

All tracks written by Jeff Russo. The third- and fourth-season tracks were co-written by

Paul Doucette Paul John Doucette (born August 22, 1972) is an American musician best known for being the drummer, rhythm guitarist, and backing vocalist of the band Matchbox Twenty.Erlewine, Stephen ThomasMatchbox Twenty Biography, AllMusic, retrieved 2011-0 ...

Season 1 original soundtrack

Season 2 original soundtrack

Season 3 original soundtrack

Season 4 original soundtrack

Release

The first season of ''For All Mankind'' premiered on

on November 1, 2019, and consisted of 10 episodes, releasing weekly until December 20, 2019. The second season premiered on February 19, 2021, and consisted of 10 episodes, releasing weekly until April 23, 2021. The third season premiered on June 10, 2022, and consisted of 10 episodes, releasing weekly until August 12, 2022. The fourth season premiered on November 10, 2023, and consisted of 10 episodes, releasing weekly until January 12, 2024.

Marketing

On February 11, 2021, ahead of the season two premiere, Apple released an

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

application on the App Store called ''For All Mankind: Time Capsule''. The application walks users through the decade-long gap between seasons one and two, showing the relationship between

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

s Gordo and Tracy Stevens, and their son Danny Stevens. At the 73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, ''For All Mankind: Time Capsule'' won an award for Outstanding Innovation in Interactive Programming. For season two, Apple released a podcast titled ''For All Mankind: The Official Podcast'', produced in partnership with At Will Media, releasing every two weeks starting February 19, 2021. It is hosted by Krys Marshall, who plays Danielle Poole, and features behind-the-scenes looks and interviews with scientists, former astronauts, and the cast and crew of ''For All Mankind''. For season three, Apple released a companion video series titled ''The Science behind For All Mankind'' for corresponding episodes from season 3. It is hosted by Wrenn Schmidt, who plays Margo Madison, and has her explain and breakdown the scientific topics shown on the series.

Reception

Critical response

The first season of ''For All Mankind'' received generally positive reviews. The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported a 75% approval rating with an average rating of 7/10, based on 56 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though it shoots for the Moon and falls somewhere in orbit, ''For All Mankind''s impressive vision of history has the potential for real liftoff if it leans into the things that set it apart instead of settling for more of the same."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 65 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The second season has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7.5/10, based on 27 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "''For All Mankind''s sophomore flight isn't without its hiccups, but compelling character work and a renewed sense of wonder make for thrilling viewing." On Metacritic, it has a weighted score of 75 out of 100 based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The third season has a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 8.2/10, based on 35 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "''For All Mankind''s third season goes as far as Mars while maintaining a homey focus on its original ensemble, delivering another epic adventure with an intimate focus." On Metacritic, it has a weighted score of 84 out of 100 based on 15 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". The fourth season has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 8.2/10, based on 27 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Houston, there's no problem here – ''For All Mankind''s fourth season hones in on what the series does best and forges ahead with a thought-provoking revisionist history." On Metacritic, it has a weighted score of 83 out of 100 based on 11 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Accolades

References

External links