As NASA’s Artemis missions continue to capture the world’s imagination with their goal of returning humanity to the lunar surface, Apple TV+ is preparing to pivot toward a different kind of lunar history. A new spinoff of the acclaimed alternate-history series For All Mankind, titled “Star City,” is set to explore a timeline where the Soviet Union won the race to the moon.
A Different Kind of History
In the established universe of For All Mankind, the historical timeline is fundamentally altered: instead of the United States landing on the moon in 1969, the USSR achieved this feat first. This fictional victory fundamentally reshaped global politics, forcing NASA into a desperate, high-stakes pursuit that eventually led to much more ambitious lunar and Martian colonization than occurred in our reality.
While the real-world Apollo 11 mission saw Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin make history on July 20, 1969, “Star City” shifts the lens toward the secretive and high-pressure world of the Soviet space program. The series aims to depict the “other side” of the Cold War—the intense technological, psychological, and political struggle required to maintain a lead in the cosmos.
Inside the Secretive World of Soviet Cosmonauts
The series derives its name from the real-life “Star City” (Zvyozdny gorodok) located outside Moscow. In actual history, this was a closed, highly classified facility where Soviet cosmonauts trained and lived. The show will use this setting to explore the human cost of the space race, focusing on:
- The Perils of Exploration: The physical and technical dangers inherent in early spaceflight.
- Political Paranoia: The influence of the KGB and the pressure to maintain ideological dominance.
- The Human Element: The lives of the engineers, scientists, spies, and politicians working behind the scenes to fuel the Soviet machine.
“The more we learned about this secret city… the more we wanted to tell this story of the other side of the space race.” — Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi, series creators.
Production and Release Details
Developed by For All Mankind creators Ronald D. Moore, Ben Nedivi, and Matt Wolpert, the 8-episode limited series features a diverse ensemble cast, including Rhys Ifans, Anna Maxwell Martin, and Alice Englert.
The series is scheduled for a global release on May 29, 2026, with Apple TV+ debuting the first two episodes simultaneously, followed by weekly installments through July 10.
“Star City” promises to move away from the American perspective of space exploration, offering a deep dive into the secrecy, ideology, and intense pressure that defined the Soviet Union’s pursuit of the stars.
