As an avid sci-fi fan, Apple TV has been something of a haven for me in recent years. Ever since its launch in 2019, the platform has made sure to cater to those who love the genre. However, Apple TV isn’t content with just making overtly sci-fi TV shows. While projects like Silo and Foundation are unquestionably sci-fi, things like Severance and For All Mankind hide their primary genre label in plain sight. Apple TV’s latest sci-fi show has done this again. What seems on the surface like a standard Cold War drama comes with several hidden elements. The Cold War began in 1947 and ended in 1991.
It primarily involved the USA and the Soviet Union, although other nations were inevitably affected. The threat of nuclear annihilation meant that no direct or large-scale warfare occurred between the US and the Soviets during this time. Instead, they fought for supremacy via less direct means. One of the most famous ways the two nations tried to keep ahead of the other was the Space Race. For All Mankind‘s entire premise is built on an alternative victor of the Space Race, which was won by the US in our timeline. The Apple TV show’s hit new spin-off is set in the world that saw the Soviets land on the Moon first, although the writers have taken a compellingly different approach when compared with For All Mankind.
‘Star City’ Is a Secret Sci-Fi Show Disguised as a Cold War Drama
The biggest point of divergence in the For All Mankind universe that eventually makes it so different from our own is that the Soviets made it to the Moon before the Americans in 1969. From there, the scientific advancements that occurred for the US to gain ground slowly make the world more sci-fi-esque. Technologies are developed to reliably travel to Mars and back, for example. That being said, these changes are so incremental that none of them are immediately observable. It takes several multi-year time jumps for them to become noticeable, and even then, the advances feel surprisingly grounded. Star City lacks those time jumps and will remain focused on the immediate fallout of the Russians’ 1969 victory, re-telling the earliest stages of For All Mankind‘s story, but from the Soviets’ point of view.
As such, Star City is forced to work almost exclusively with what was on hand in the late ’60s and very early ’70’s. So, in the spin-off, there’s been no real advancement since the Soviets landed on the Moon. As such, the sci-fi elements that we know develop down the line simply aren’t present in Star City​​​​​​. Because of this, the show will only ever really come across as a historical fiction project or a Cold War prestige drama. It does canonically belong to a sci-fi universe, but it’s only awarded that genre label in a very passive and creative way. Given how great For All Mankind is, I think it was really smart not to try to replicate the original show’s groundbreaking formula. This way, Star City offers something very different to fans of the franchise, which is what any good spin-off should do.
‘Star City’ Makes Complete Sense Without ‘For All Mankind’
If I’m completely honest, I’m genuinely surprised that the new spin-off isn’t called something like For All Mankind: Star City, or Star City: A For All Mankind Story. I know this titling convention isn’t universal, but I figured that, because Apple TV generally doesn’t do spin-offs, as many steps as possible would have been taken to cash in on the existing fan base and maximize Star City‘s exposure. I’m glad that didn’t happen, though, as I actually think it would have hurt Star City‘s performance. Immediately identifying a spin-off as part of a larger franchise can alienate potential newcomers. It often implies homework needs to be done before the new show can be enjoyed.
Star City isn’t trying to deceive anyone by quietly distancing itself from For All Mankind, though. The spin-off is intentionally designed to function as a standalone project that requires no knowledge of its parent show going in. Sure, it’s a marginally more enriching experience if you’ve already seen For All Mankind, but in a lot of ways, Star City is actually spoiled if you know what ultimately happens in certain arcs. Regardless, Star City primarily consists of surprisingly original storylines and introduces a large batch of characters, most of whom have never been shown or even mentioned in For All Mankind. If I could wipe For All Mankind from my memory and watch Star City first, I’m convinced the experience would be almost exactly the same.
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Star City
- Release Date
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May 28, 2026
- Network
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Apple TV
- Showrunner
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Ben Nedivi, Matt Wolpert
- Directors
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Jamie Payne, Kasia Adamik, Stefan Schwartz
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For All Mankind
- Release Date
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2019 – 2027-00-00
- Network
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Apple TV
- Directors
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Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, Andrew Stanton, Meera Menon, Dan Liu, Allen Coulter, Craig Zisk, Dennie Gordon, John Dahl, Lukas Ettlin, Wendey Stanzler, Seth Gordon, Sylvain White, Michael Morris, Maja Vrvilo, Sarah Boyd
