American science fiction drama
For All Mankind is an American science fictiondrama television series created by Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi and produced for Apple TV+. The series dramatizes an alternate history depicting "what would have happened if the global space race had never ended" after the Soviet Union succeeds in the first crewed Moon landing ahead of the United States.[1] The title is inspired by the lunar plaque left on the Moon by the crew of Apollo 11, which reads, in part, "We Came in Peace for All Mankind".[2]
The series stars an ensemble cast including Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman, Sarah Jones, Shantel VanSanten, Jodi Balfour, Wrenn Schmidt, Sonya Walger, and Krys Marshall. Cynthy Wu, Casey W. Johnson, and Coral Peña joined the main cast for the second season. Edi Gathegi joined in the third. Toby Kebbell, Tyner Rushing, Svetlana Efremova, and Daniel Stern joined in the fourth. The series features historical figures, played by actors or appearing through archival footage, including astronauts and NASA officials as well as American presidents and other politicians.
For All Mankind premiered on November 1, [3] The show's second season was critically acclaimed and was nominated for the TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Drama. In July , the series was renewed for a fourth season,[4] which premiered on November 10, [5] In , the writers said that, from the beginning, they had discussed that their goal was that there would be "about seven seasons" and that the story will span "at least 70 years".[6] In April , the series was renewed for a fifth season, and it was announced that a spinoff series titled Star City was in development, focusing on the Soviet space program.[7]
In an alternate timeline in , Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov becomes the first human to land on the Moon. This outcome devastates morale at NASA but also catalyzes a U.S. effort to catch up. With the Soviet Union emphasizing diversity by including a woman in subsequent landings, the United States is forced to match pace, training women and minorities who were largely excluded from the initial decades of U.S. space exploration. Each subsequent season takes place 10 years later, with season two taking place in the s, season three taking place in the s, and season four taking place in the s.
Ronald D. Moore explained how historical reality had been different from the series: "Sergei Korolev was the father of the Soviet space program; in our reality, he died during an operation in Moscow (in ) And after that point, their Moon program really never pulled together Our point of divergence was that Korolev lives, and he made their Moon landing happen."[8]
Main article: List of For All Mankind characters
According to Ronald D. Moore, the idea of the show came about during lunch with former NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman, when they discussed the possibility of an alternate history in which the Soviets reached the Moon before the Americans.[12] On December 15, , it was announced that Apple had given the production a one-season series order. The series was created by Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi.[13] Maril Davis serves as executive producer alongside Moore, Wolpert, and Nedivi. Production companies involved with the series include Sony Pictures Television and Tall Ship Productions.[1][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] On October 5, , it was announced that the series had been officially titled For All Mankind.[21] The series was renewed for a second season in October [22] On November 19, , it was announced that the second season would premiere on February 19, [23] On December 8, , ahead of the second-season premiere, Apple TV+ renewed the series for a third season.[24] On July 22, , Apple TV+ renewed the series for a fourth season.[4] In April , the series was renewed for a fifth season.[7]
In August , it was announced that Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman, Sarah Jones, Shantel VanSanten, and Wrenn Schmidt had been cast in main roles and that Eric Ladin, Arturo Del Puerto, and Rebecca Wisocky would appear in a recurring capacity.[25][26][27] In October , it was reported that Jodi Balfour had been cast in a series regular role.[21]
In November , Cynthy Wu, Coral Peña and Casey W. Johnson had been cast in main roles for the second season. Also, Krys Marshall and Sonya Walger were promoted to the main cast for the second season.[23] In December , Michaela Conlin joined the cast in a supporting role for the second season.[28] In June , it was reported that Edi Gathegi joined the season three cast as a series regular.[29] For the fourth season, Daniel Stern, Toby Kebbell, Tyner Rushing and Svetlana Efremova were cast as series regulars.[30][31][32][33] In July , Mireille Enos and Costa Ronin were cast in series regular roles for the fifth season.[34][35]
Principal photography for the series commenced in August in Los Angeles, California.[36] In March , The New York Times reported that filming had concluded.[37] The filming for the second season began on December 24, [38] On August 17, , production on second season resumed after the COVID halt, and the final two episodes were filmed.[39] Filming for the third season began on February 25, ,[40] and concluded in mid-September [41] Filming for the fourth season began in August and had wrapped by January [42][43] Filming for the fifth season began in July [44]
All tracks written by Jeff Russo. The third- and fourth-season tracks were co-written by Paul Doucette.[45][46][47][48]
| Title | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "For All Mankind Main Title" | |
| 2. | "For All Jazz-Kind" | |
| 3. | "Race to the Moon (Piano Suite)" | |
| 4. | "Moon" | |
| 5. | "Heading for the Landing" | |
| 6. | "Heroes" | |
| 7. | "Hurry to Watch" | |
| 8. | "Karen and Ed" | |
| 9. | "Water, Pt. 1" | |
| "Moon Miss America" | ||
| "Lower Molly" | ||
| "Water, Pt. 2" | ||
| "Questioned on Tape" | ||
| "Ants" | ||
| "Armed Booster / Another Ship" | ||
| "Lonely Research" | ||
| "Ellen and Deke In Trouble" | ||
| "Career Over / No Russians" | ||
| "Landing" | ||
| "Smoke" | ||
| "Von Braun" | ||
| "Flight Director" | ||
| "Lit Match" | ||
| "Command Module Cobb" | ||
| "Tribunal" | ||
| "Woman on the Moon" |
| Title | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sunrise Transition" | |
| 2. | "Save Wubbo" | |
| 3. | "Molly and Ellen Leave Jamestown" | |
| 4. | "Shane's Old Room" | |
| 5. | "Baldwin Fight Aftermath" | |
| 6. | "Visiting the Ships" | |
| 7. | "The Donut Run" | |
| 8. | "Margot Jazz Trio Part Deux" | |
| 9. | "First Shot On the Moon" | |
| "Kelly Was a Heart Transplant" | ||
| "Ed Rocks the Sim" | ||
| "News of the Attack" | ||
| "Dani and the Engineer" | ||
| "Molly's Flight" | ||
| "Tracy and Gordo landing" | ||
| "Reaching For the Case" | ||
| "Russians!" | ||
| "Sea Dragon" | ||
| "Here We Go" | ||
| "Jamestown" | ||
| "The Run" |
| Title | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "What We Can Build" | |
| 2. | "Extra Gravity" | |
| 3. | "Thrusters Firing" | |
| 4. | "Back in the Race" | |
| 5. | "Margo and Sergei" | |
| 6. | "Turning" | |
| 7. | "Ellen's Return" | |
| 8. | "Spaghetti Martian" | |
| 9. | "Messages" | |
| "Stranded" | ||
| "Drilling" | ||
| "Aleida's Wall" | ||
| "Approaching Probe" | ||
| "Mars" | ||
| "Libra" | ||
| "Wreckage" |
| Title | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Montage" | |
| 2. | "Mars Colony" | |
| 3. | "Bullfinch" | |
| 4. | "Riot" | |
| 5. | "Eavesdropping" | |
| 6. | "Powdered Milk" | |
| 7. | "Changes Course" | |
| 8. | "Docking Procedure test" | |
| 9. | "Discriminator Install" | |
| "Floating Conflict" |
The first season of For All Mankind premiered on Apple TV+ on November 1, , and consisted of 10 episodes, releasing weekly until December 20, The second season premiered on February 19, , and consisted of 10 episodes, releasing weekly until April 23, [23] The third season premiered on June 10, , and consisted of 10 episodes, releasing weekly until August 12, [49] The fourth season premiered on November 10, , and consisted of 10 episodes, releasing weekly until January 12,
On February 11, , ahead of the season two premiere, Apple released an augmented realityiOS application on the App Store called For All Mankind: Time Capsule. The application walks users through the decade-long gap between seasons one and two, showing the relationship between astronauts Gordo and Tracy Stevens, and their son Danny Stevens.[50] At the 73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, For All Mankind: Time Capsule won an award for Outstanding Innovation in Interactive Programming.[51]
For season two, Apple released a podcast titled For All Mankind: The Official Podcast, produced in partnership with At Will Media, releasing every two weeks starting February 19, It is hosted by Krys Marshall, who plays Danielle Poole, and features behind-the-scenes looks and interviews with scientists, former astronauts, and the cast and crew of For All Mankind.[52]
For season three, Apple released a companion video series titled The Science behind For All Mankind for corresponding episodes from season 3. It is hosted by Wrenn Schmidt, who plays Margo Madison, and has her explain and breakdown the scientific topics shown on the series.
The first season of For All Mankind received generally positive reviews. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 75% approval rating with an average rating of 7/10, based on 56 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though it shoots for the Moon and falls somewhere in orbit, For All Mankind's impressive vision of history has the potential for real liftoff if it leans into the things that set it apart instead of settling for more of the same."[53]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 65 out of based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[54]
The second season has a % approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of /10, based on 27 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "For All Mankind's sophomore flight isn't without its hiccups, but compelling character work and a renewed sense of wonder make for thrilling viewing."[55] On Metacritic, it has a weighted score of 75 out of based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[56]
The third season has a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of /10, based on 35 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "For All Mankind's third season goes as far as Mars while maintaining a homey focus on its original ensemble, delivering another epic adventure with an intimate focus."[57] On Metacritic, it has a weighted score of 84 out of based on 15 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[58]
The fourth season has a % approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of /10, based on 27 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Houston, there's no problem here – For All Mankind's fourth season hones in on what the series does best and forges ahead with a thought-provoking revisionist history."[59] On Metacritic, it has a weighted score of 83 out of based on 11 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[60]