Star City is an ambitious new Apple TV drama set in the Soviet space program. It expands the alternate-history universe established by the streamer’s acclaimed series For All Mankind. And the new show got the “first-look” treatment Thursday, when Apple sent out a new photo to get fans excited about the premiere of Star City season 1.
The eight-episode series debuts May 29 with two episodes, followed by one new episode each Friday through July 10.
Star City season 1: A familiar creative team returns
Star City comes from the same creative minds behind For All Mankind — showrunners Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert, along with co-creator Ronald D. Moore. The trio previously built out a richly imagined alternate timeline in which the space race never ended. And Star City plants a flag in that same world while venturing much more deeply inside the Soviet Union itself.
Behind the Iron Curtain
For All Mankind (read Cult of Mac‘s recaps) followed the American side of its reimagined space race. But Star City flips the perspective entirely. The show revisits the pivotal alt-history moment when the Soviet Union became the first nation to land a man on the moon. And it tells the story of the cosmonauts, engineers, and intelligence officers who made it happen, along with the personal and political risks they took to push humanity forward.
Apple describes it as a “propulsive paranoid thriller.” And the Cold War setting promises the kind of tension and intrigue that made For All Mankind a fan favorite.
A strong ensemble cast
The series boasts an impressive international cast. Rhys Ifans, known to viewers from House of the Dragon, leads the ensemble. He’s joined by Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland), Agnes O’Casey (Black Doves), Alice Englert (Bad Behaviour), Solly McLeod (House of the Dragon), Adam Nagaitis (Chernobyl), Ruby Ashbourne Serkis (I, Jack Wright), Josef Davies (Andor) and Priya Kansara (Bridgerton). The casting skews heavily toward acclaimed British and European talent, fitting for a story set largely behind the Iron Curtain.
Nedivi and Wolpert serve as showrunners and executive producers alongside Moore and Maril Davis of Tall Ship Productions. Sony Pictures Television produces the series for Apple TV.
For All Mankind fans should be psyched for Star City season 1
Star City isn’t a direct sequel or spinoff in the traditional sense. It’s a companion series that expands the same alternate timeline from a new vantage point. Fans of For All Mankind — watch it on Apple TV — will recognize the world. But the show’s creators made it accessible to newcomers as well.
Apple TV is available by subscription for $12.99 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 or Mac can enjoy three months of Apple TV for free.
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 over 700 wins and more than 3,200 award nominations and counting, the service said.
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.
