As For All Mankind prepares to launch into its fifth season, the Apple TV+ alternative-history space drama expands its universe in ambitious new directions. Co-creators Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert recently sat down with ScreenRant to discuss what fans can expect from the upcoming season set in 2012 — as well as their highly anticipated Soviet spinoff series Star City.
For All Mankind season 5: Earth vs. Mars tension takes center stage
After four seasons as a flagship Apple TV+ drama (now with a spinoff!), For All Mankind season 5 will explore the consequences of Mars capturing an asteroid at the end of season 4. It creates an unprecedented tension between Earth and the red planet.
“The show is caught in place where it started in season one, as tension between the Soviet Union and the United States, and now five seasons later, it’s about Earth and Mars,” Nedivi explained. This evolution demonstrates the remarkable scope the series has achieved over its run.
The 2012 setting will continue to follow beloved characters like Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman), who Wolpert describes as getting “grumpier and grumpier” with age.
“You can’t put a number on Ed Baldwin’s age,” Wolpert joked. “He’s young at heart. It’s so fun to watch Joel, like, just buy into old man Ed energy.”
Returning alongside Kinnaman’s Ed will be Miles Dale (Toby Kebbell), Kelly Baldwin (Cynthy Wu) and Aleida (Coral Pena), plus new characters who are children and grandchildren of original cast members.
Star City offers a different perspective
While For All Mankind continues its decade-jumping structure, the Soviet-focused spinoff Star City will take a markedly different approach. Set in the 1970s, the series will remain anchored in that time period rather than following the main show’s temporal leaps.
“Right now we’re thinking that that show is really just going to live in that 1970s time period, because we really wanted to feel like it wasn’t just mirroring For All Mankind,” Wolpert said. “It’s its own thing.”
The spinoff will explore the notoriously risk-taking Soviet space program, where danger comes not just from space exploration but from the authoritarian regime on Earth.
“In For All Mankind, it’s all about risks. And are we willing to take a risk. In Star City, there’s no question they’re going to take the risk,” Nedivi noted. “Space is almost where there’s freedom, and there’s you can sort of be who you want to be. And then you still got to go back to Earth and sort of deal with the consequences.”
Crossovers and connections
Despite being a standalone series, Star City will feature crossover elements that For All Mankind fans will appreciate.
“There are actually crossovers and really interesting ones,” Nedivi teased, mentioning that viewers will see “similarities or characters, or maybe even the ancestors of characters of For All Mankind.”
The show serves as something of a prequel for certain storylines, allowing fans to see earlier versions of characters they know from the main series. While Margo’s defection storyline won’t appear directly due to the 1970s setting, elements of that narrative will be hinted at throughout Star City.
Watch the interview:
Looking toward the future
The creators remain committed to their original vision of eventually catching up to the present day.
“The hope was always to catch up to the present,” Nedivi said. “The fact that we’re at a point now, already in the 2010s getting close to that is pretty unbelievable.”
When asked about the possibility of creating a Star Trek-like universe for Apple TV+, Nedivi acknowledged the similarities while emphasizing their commitment to realism. “The thing that is important that keeps our show unique is the idea that it feels real. It’s authentic. It kind of feels more grounded naturalistic,” he noted.
As both series prepare to launch, fans can expect For All Mankind to continue pushing the boundaries of alternate history while Star City offers an intimate look at the human cost of the space race from behind the Iron Curtain. With Apple’s continued support and the creators’ expansive vision, this universe shows no signs of slowing down its ambitious trajectory toward the stars.
Watch For All Mankind and Star City on Apple TV+
While waiting for the new episodes and the new show, You can stream four full seasons of For All Mankind on Apple TV+. Get it by subscription for $9.99 with a seven-day free trial. You can also get it via any tier of the Apple One subscription bundle. Customers who buy a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.
After launching 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 580 wins and 2,787 award nominations and counting,” the service said.
More than 200 exclusive movies and TV shows call Apple TV+ home (including breakout soccer comedy Ted Lasso). The service also offers documentaries, dramas, comedies, kids shows and more.
David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.
With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.
Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.
Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.
