It’s time to see things behind the Iron Curtain, as Apple TV has just released the first trailer for “Star City,” the “For All Mankind” spin-off that tells the story from a Soviet perspective. Our ability to see through different perspectives is a valued human virtue, and we can’t wait to see what Apple does with it.
The fifth season of Apple TV’s “For All Mankind” arrives on March 27, 2026, with a fresh 10-episode outing that expands alt history to a timeline where Russia put boots on the moon before America. And we’ve now got a new spinoff with a Soviet twist prepped on the launch pad with the first images.
“Star City” takes off for an 8-episode debut season on May 29, 2026, and is Apple TV’s upcoming “For all mankind” companion piece created by Ronald D. Moore, Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert. To whet fans’ appetites for more space race drama served up Russian-style, Apple TV has shared a collection of photos from which we’ve rounded up the best below, revealing characters, tone and set design.
Like “For All Mankind,” “Star City” presents a fictional version of world history showing that the United States did not plant the stars and stripes in the lunar soil in 1969, and instead it was Russia. While the flagship show depicts the advancing timeline from an American point of view, “Star City” pokes us well behind the ominous Iron Curtain to see how things shook out in the Soviet Union.
Here we are offered what is sure to be a fascinating insight into the complex lives and loves of cosmonauts, scientists, engineers, scientists, intelligence officers and espionage agents working within the Soviet space program and their sacrifices for the benefit of Earth.
“I didn’t know much about the Russian space program until I started doing this project,” Moore said Collider in a 2024 SDCC interview.
“I knew an awful lot about the American program, but I think most Americans don’t know a lot of details about it. It was pretty ballsy stuff they did. The spacecraft weren’t quite as reliable as ours; they lost a lot of good people on them. The conditions were tough. They also had things like the KGB hanging out in mission control, so there’s a lot of war environments and war environments in that particular show, so it’s a familiar story in terms of the narrative for people who watch ‘Mankind.’
“Star City’s” ensemble cast includes Rhys Ifans, Anna Maxwell Martin, Agnes O’Casey, Alice Englert, Solly McLeod, Adam Nagaitis, Ruby Ashbourne Serkis, Josef Davies and Priya Kansara. As with “For All Mankind”, this project is produced by Sony Pictures Television. Wolpert and Nedivi serve as series showrunners and executive producers with Ronald D. Moore and Maril Davis of Tall Ship Productions, and Andrew Chambliss and Steve Oster.
“Star City” arrives on May 29, 2026, with plenty of cool oppressive USSR atmosphere for a two-episode premiere exclusively on Apple TV, followed by new single episodes every Friday until July 10.
