It’s 2003, and the United States leads the way on Mars in its Happy Valley Base, having turned its international space-race competitors into allies. But when an asteroid presents an almost-unimaginably rich mining opportunity, it’s back to pitched competition, as seen in the For All Mankind season four trailer Apple TV+ dropped Thursday.
The alternative-history sci-fi series started with an interesting premise — what if the United States lost the moon race in 1969 to the Soviets? — and has run with it into a fourth season, which debuts November 10 on Apple TV+.
Everyone wants a piece of a space rock in season 4 of For All Mankind
Over the course of For All Mankind, NASA found itself playing catch-up when the Soviet Union reached the moon first. But then several other countries and even private companies — hello, fictional Elon Musk — got into the never-ending race for space superiority.
Plenty of melodrama found its way into the “space opera/soap opera,” as well. That landed in the forms of political intrigue, family strife and illicit romance.
And with that accelerated fictional space race, we’re well-established on Mars by 2003 in season 4.
Apple TV+ previewed the new season this way:
Rocketing into the new millennium in the eight years since season three, Happy Valley has rapidly expanded its footprint on Mars by turning former foes into partners. Now 2003, the focus of the space program has turned to the capture and mining of extremely valuable, mineral-rich asteroids that could change the future of both Earth and Mars. But simmering tensions between the residents of the now-sprawling international base threaten to undo everything they are working towards.
Returning cast members for season four include Joel Kinnaman (with even grayer hair), Wrenn Schmidt, Krys Marshall, Edi Gathegi, Cynthy Wu and Coral Peña. Toby Kebbell, Tyner Rushing, Daniel Stern and Svetlana Efremova join the series.
Watch the trailer
Watch seasons 1 through 3 on Apple TV+
The fourth season of For All Mankind will debut with its first episode on Friday, November 10, on Apple TV+. A new episode follows weekly on Fridays through January 12, 2024.
To get caught up — here’s your chance to have your own “space race” — hurry up and watch the first three seasons on Apple TV+.
Other sci-fi series options on the streaming service include Isaac Asimov’s Foundation, plus the popular Silo and Severance. And there are that’s just the beginning — explore more to watch here.
Get Apple TV+ now
Apple TV+ is available by subscription for $6.99 with a seven-day free trial. You can also get it via any tier of the Apple One subscription bundle. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.
After first airing in November 2019, “Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have been honored with 299 wins and 1,451 award nominations and counting,” the service said.
In addition to award-winning movies and TV shows (including breakout soccer comedy Ted Lasso), Apple TV+ offers a variety of documentaries, dramas, comedies, kids shows and more.
