''The First'' is a television

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 ...

series portraying a team of astronauts who prepare to become the first humans to visit

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 ...

, created by Beau Willimon and starring an ensemble cast including

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...

Natascha McElhone Natascha McElhone (; born Natascha Abigail Taylor, 14 December 1971) is a British actress. She is a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. In film, she is best known for her roles in '' Ronin'' (1998), '' The Truman Show'' (1 ...

LisaGay Hamilton LisaGay Hamilton (born March 25, 1964) is an American actress who has portrayed roles in films, television, and on stage. She is best known for her role as secretary/lawyer Rebecca Washington on the ABC legal drama ''The Practice'' (1997–2003) ...

Hannah Ware Hannah Rose Ware''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''; at ancestry.com (born 8 December 1982) is an English actress, best known for her roles as Emma Kane in the Starz political drama series ''Boss'' (2011–2012) ...

Keiko Agena Christine Keiko Agena (born October 3, 1973) is an American actress. She is mostly known for playing Lane Kim in ''Gilmore Girls'' and NYPD medical examiner Dr. Edrisa Tanaka on FOX's crime drama ''Prodigal Son'' (2019–2021). Personal life Ag ...

, Rey Lucas,

James Ransone James Finley Ransone III (born June 2, 1979) is an American actor and musician. He is known for his roles as Ziggy Sobotka in the second season of the drama series ''The Wire'', United States Marine Corps Cpl. Josh Ray Person in the war drama min ...

, Anna Jacoby-Heron, Brian Lee Franklin,

Oded Fehr Oded Fehr ( he, עודד פהר; born ) is an Israeli actor based in the United States. He is known for his appearance as Ardeth Bay in the 1999 remake of ''The Mummy'' and its sequel ''The Mummy Returns'', as well as Carlos Olivera in '' Reside ...

, Norbert Leo Butz, Annie Parisse,

Melissa George Melissa George (born 6 August 1976) is an Australian actress and entrepreneur. A former national artistic rollerskating champion and model, George began her acting career playing Angel Parrish in the Australian soap opera Home and Away (1993– ...

Jeannie Berlin Jeannie Berlin (born Jeannie Brette May; November 1, 1949) is an American film, television and stage actress and screenwriter, the daughter of Elaine May. She is best-known for her role in the 1972 comedy film '' The Heartbreak Kid'', for which sh ...

, and

Bill Camp Bill Camp (born 1963/1964) is an American actor. He has played supporting roles in many films such as ''Lincoln'' (2012), ''Compliance'' (2012), '' 12 Years a Slave'' (2013), '' Love & Mercy'' (2015), ''Loving'' (2016), ''Molly's Game'' (2017), ...

. The series, a co-production between American streaming service

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

and British television network

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

, debuted on September 14, 2018, in the United States and on November 1, 2018 in the United Kingdom. On January 18, 2019, Hulu canceled the series after one season.

Premise

''The First'' follows the planning of "the first

human mission to Mars The idea of sending humans to Mars has been the subject of aerospace engineering and scientific studies since the late 1940s as part of the broader exploration of Mars. Some have also considered exploring the Martian moons of Phobos and Deimos. ...

, while exploring the challenges of taking the first steps toward interplanetary colonization. The story focuses not only on the astronauts, but also on their families and loved ones, as well as the ground team on Earth."

Cast and characters

Main

as Tom Hagerty, one of five astronauts chosen to be the first people to visit Mars. *

as Laz Ingram, the CEO of commercial launch provider Vista. Julia Badinger portrays a young Laz in a recurring role. * Anna Jacoby-Heron as Denise Hagerty, Tom's estranged daughter struggling with

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use of ...

. ** Eden Grace Redfield as young Denise Hagerty in a recurring role. *

as Kayla Price, one of five astronauts chosen to be the first people to visit Mars. Mikaela Kimani Armstrong portrays a young Kayla in a guest appearance in the episode "Cycles". *

as Sadie Hewitt, one of five astronauts chosen to be the first people to visit Mars. *

as Aiko Hakari, one of five astronauts chosen to be the first people to visit Mars. * Rey Lucas as Matteo Vega, one of five astronauts chosen to be the first people to visit Mars. *

as Nick Fletcher, one of five astronauts chosen to be the first people to visit Mars. * Brian Lee Franklin as Lawrence, the father of Laz Ingram. *

as Eitan Hafri, the leading Vista scientist * Norbert Leo Butz as Matthew Dawes, an astronaut killed while leading a previous mission. * Annie Parisse as Ellen Dawes, Matthew's wife. *

as Diane Hagerty, Tom's wife. *

as President Cecily Burke *

as Aaron Shultz, a journalist. * Ana Lucia Souza as the ballet dancer.

Recurring

* T. C. Matherne as Jason *

D. W. Moffett Donald Warren "D.W." Moffett (born October 26, 1954) is an American film, stage, and television actor. Moffett began his career in stage productions in Chicago before starring in the original New York City production of Larry Kramer's ''The Norma ...

as Robert Cordine *

Tracie Thoms Tracie Nicole Thoms is an Emmy-nominated American television, film, and stage actress and singer. She is known for her roles in ''Rent'', ''Cold Case'', '' The Devil Wears Prada'', ''Death Proof'', and the short-lived Fox television series ''Won ...

as Nancy, Kayla’s wife *

Fernanda Andrade Fernanda Andrade (born 8 March 1984) is a Brazilian-born American actress, model and singer. She is best known for starring in the 2012 horror film, '' The Devil Inside'' as Isabella Rossi, Special Agent Salazar in the 2020 sci-fi action thrille ...

as Camila Rodriguez * Patrick Kennedy as Ollie Bennett, Sadie's husband * Anthony Marble as Engineer #1 * Kelly Murtagh as Engineer #2 * Amber Patino as Amanda Ingram * Alex Rubin as Devon Ingram * John "Spud" McConnell as Senator Thibodeaux *

Scott Takeda Scott Takeda (born March 21, 1967) is an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He is known for his recurring roles on the soap operas ''Days of Our Lives'' (2016–17, as Dr. Lee) and '' General Hospital'' (2019–20, as Judge Lowe), and ...

as Todd * Sharon Omi as Edith * Miguel Najera as Mr. Castillo *

Sol Miranda Sol Miranda is a Puerto Rican actress. She played "mole woman" Donna Maria Nuñez on '' Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' (2015–2019). She is an adjunct assistant professor at Hostos Community College and the founder of Embark Peekskill, a nonprofit ...

as Mrs. Castillo *

Billy Slaughter William H. Slaughter is an American film and television actor, best known for his roles in '' The Campaign'' and ''Focus''. In his free time he works with students that want to become actors and actresses at Launch Model And Talent in Metairie, ...

as Vista Lawyer * Cara Ronzetti as Myk *

Devyn Tyler Devyn Ariel Tyler is an American actress. She is a regular on the TV series ''Snowfall'' and ''Clarice''. Biography Tyler was born in New Orleans to actress Deneen Tyler. She attended the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts ...

as Samantha * Fallon Katz as Charlotte Dawes * Marcus Lyle Brown as Launch Director * Galen Lee as Aiko's Son #1 * Asher Lee as Aiko's Son #2

Episodes

Production

Development

On May 3, 2017,

and

had given the production a straight-to-series order. The show was created by Beau Willimon who was also set to write for the series and executive produce alongside Jordan Tappis. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Westward Productions. The series reportedly has been given a budget of around $54.6 million. On July 16, 2018, it was reported that the series would premiere on September 14, 2018 on Hulu in the United States. On October 22, 2018, it was reported that the series would premiere on November 1, 2018 on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. On January 18, 2019, Hulu canceled the series after one season.

Casting

In September 2017,

and

were cast as the series' leads. In October 2017, it was reported that

, and

had also joined the main cast. On November 3, 2017, Anna Jacoby-Heron was cast in a series regular role.

Filming

The series was set to finish pre-production and enter principal photography on September 18, 2017 in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. The shoot was scheduled to last about 85 days though it was later reported that the series would film in the city through March 9, 2018.

Release

Marketing

On July 16, 2018, a series of "first look" images from the series were released. On July 24, 2018, a teaser trailer for the series was released. On August 28, 2018, the official trailer for the series was released.

Premiere

On June 9, 2018, creator/executive producer Beau Willimon appeared at the annual

ATX Television Festival ATX Television Festival is an annual event based in Austin, Texas, that celebrates and showcases the past, present, and future of the television industry. Screenings, Q&As, cast reunions, and industry panel discussions take place over four days an ...

where he discussed the series and debuted a "first look" at the series through a short trailer featuring narration from cast member Sean Penn. On September 7, 2018, the series took part in the 12th annual PaleyFest Fall Television Previews, which featured a preview screening of the series.

Reception

Critical response

The series has been met with a positive response from critics upon its premiere. On the review aggregation 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 ...

, the series holds an approval rating of 68% with an average rating of 6.3 out of 10, based on 59 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Sean Penn gives an intensely poignant performance as the driven but conflicted Tom Hagerty in ''The First''s rather slow-moving first season."

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 the series a score of 61 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." John Anderson of the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' wrote: "This is not a space show, or at least it won’t be till the end of the season. But it does what it does with a high degree of intelligence. ... There’s nothing pedestrian about The First, though. It orbits high above the cable traffic." Matt Zoller Seitz of

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'', ...

notes that some have given the series negative reviews and says "Not all of the series’ risks pay off, and the overall approach is so counterintuitive that it’s bound to frustrate audiences who expected more of a problem-solving space mission story along the lines of Apollo 13 or The Martian." But gives the series a positive review saying "it weaves a spell that’s somewhere between a ’90s John Wells drama (think ER or The West Wing) and a slowed-down TV answer to Terrence Malick (

The Tree of Life ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

especially)." Willa Paskin of

Slate.com ''Slate'' is an online magazine that covers current affairs, politics, and culture in the United States. It was created in 1996 by former '' New Republic'' editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. In 2 ...

wrote: "The First is a glossy, often-inert tale of devotion and spaceflight. Its first two episodes treat inevitabilities as questions, and unfold with the zip of a DVR-ed sporting event for which you already read the box score. ... But The First does get better after its first two episodes (before getting worse again) by jettisoning inevitability. ... As flawed as I found the first season, I’ll admit, it hooked me enough that I’m interested to see how they live life on Mars." Alan Sepinwall of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' wrote: "The First is under no burden to be as quippy or feel-good as The Martian, as awestruck as The Right Stuff, as gee-whiz as

Apollo 13 Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted aft ...

From the Earth to the Moon ''From the Earth to the Moon: A Direct Route in 97 Hours, 20 Minutes'' (french: De la Terre à la Lune, trajet direct en 97 heures 20 minutes) is an 1865 novel by Jules Verne. It tells the story of the Baltimore Gun Club, a post-American Civil W ...

. But it needs to have some compelling reason to tell this story, in this way, and it never really finds one."

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:First (TV series), The 2010s American drama television series 2018 American television series debuts 2018 American television series endings 2010s British drama television series 2018 British television series debuts 2018 British television series endings Hulu original programming Channel 4 television dramas Mars in television English-language television shows Space adventure television series Television series set in the 2030s Television series about astronauts