For All Mankind (TV series)

• 1. Introduction

  ›

  For All Mankind is an American science fiction drama series. It opens in 1969, when Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov becomes the first human to land on the Moon. That defeat crushes NASA's morale but pushes the United States into a harder fight to catch up. The series was created by Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi, produced for the Apple TV streaming service. It dramatizes an alternate history built around one question: what would have happened if the global space race had never ended? The title comes from the lunar plaque the crew of Apollo 11 left on the Moon. It reads, in part, "We Came in Peace for All Mankind." For All Mankind premiered on the 1st of November 2019. How far does one Soviet landing reshape the decades that follow, on Earth as well as in orbit? And who ends up carrying that rewritten history forward?

• 2. The Korolev Divergence

  ›

  In the real world, Sergei Korolev, the father of the Soviet space program, died during an operation in Moscow in 1966. After that point, the Soviet Moon program never fully pulled together, in Ronald D. Moore's telling of history. Moore has summarized the divergence simply: "Korolev lives,... and he made their Moon landing happen."

  Once the Soviets pull ahead, they respond by putting a woman aboard their later Moon landings. That single choice forces the United States to match pace, training women and ethnic minorities long excluded from its early space program.

  Sharper competition then pushes the Soviet bloc, and others, toward more capable leadership and faster, steadier modernization. Sustained investment in technology fuels a broad, global race that spills into daily life. Its ripple effects include early civil rights gains, electric vehicles, civilian fusion power, controlled carbon dioxide output, and a world without a climate crisis.

  Each season then jumps forward roughly a decade. The second season lands in the 1980s, the third in the 1990s, the fourth in the 2000s, and the fifth in the 2010s. Carrying that rewritten history forward falls to a growing cast, including one astronaut who eventually becomes President of the United States.

• 3. A Cast Built To Grow

  ›

  Jodi Balfour plays Ellen Wilson, born Ellen Waverly, an astronaut who becomes one of the show's "Nixon's Women." Her arc runs furthest of all: NASA Administrator, then a United States senator, then President of the United States following the 1992 presidential election.

  Joel Kinnaman plays Edward "Ed" Baldwin across all five seasons, one of NASA's top astronauts. The character was first built around Apollo 10 commander Thomas P. Stafford. Michael Dorman plays Gordo Stevens, Ed's best friend, a role based on Apollo 10's Lunar Module pilot Gene Cernan. Sarah Jones plays Gordo's wife, Tracy Stevens, who later becomes an astronaut herself. Sonya Walger's Molly Cobb is based on real astronaut Jerrie Cobb, while Krys Marshall plays fellow astronaut Danielle Poole.

  Shantel VanSanten plays Ed's wife, Karen Baldwin, who later owns the Outpost Tavern before rising to head Helios Aerospace. The ensemble keeps expanding: Cynthy Wu, Casey W. Johnson, and Coral Peña join for the second season. Edi Gathegi joins in the third season as Dev Ayesa, founder of Helios Aerospace, racing to reach Mars before NASA and the Soviets.

  Toby Kebbell joins in the fourth season as Miles Dale, a former offshore oil platform worker chasing a new job on Mars. Tyner Rushing, Svetlana Efremova, and Daniel Stern also join that season, with Daniel Stern's character serving as NASA administrator. By the fifth season, new arrivals include Mireille Enos and Costa Ronin, who plays a Soviet politician turned governor of Mars. Sean Kaufman joins too, playing Ed Baldwin's own grandson.

  Real historical figures move through the story as well, astronauts and NASA officials among them, alongside American presidents and other politicians. Some are played by actors; others appear only through archival footage. That entire sprawling cast began, according to Ronald D. Moore, with a lunch conversation and one hypothetical question.

• 4. Behind The Cameras

  ›

  Ronald D. Moore has said the idea took shape over lunch with former NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman. The two discussed an alternate history in which the Soviets reached the Moon first. In December 2017, Apple gave the production a one-season order. By October 2018, the series had its official title, For All Mankind. Maril Davis serves as executive producer alongside Moore, Wolpert, and Nedivi, with Sony Pictures Television and Tall Ship Productions among the production companies involved.

  In August 2018, Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman, Sarah Jones, Shantel VanSanten, and Wrenn Schmidt were cast in the main roles. Eric Ladin, Arturo Del Puerto, and Rebecca Wisocky joined in recurring parts, and Jodi Balfour signed on as a series regular that October. Cynthy Wu, Coral Peña, and Casey W. Johnson were cast for the second season in November 2020. That same month, Krys Marshall and Sonya Walger were promoted to the main cast as well. Michaela Conlin joined in a supporting role that December, and Edi Gathegi signed on as a season three regular in June 2021. Daniel Stern, Toby Kebbell, Tyner Rushing, and Svetlana Efremova were cast as season four regulars. Mireille Enos and Costa Ronin joined for the fifth season in July 2024.

  Principal photography began in August 2018 in Los Angeles, California. By March 2019, The New York Times reported that filming had concluded. Filming for the second season began in December 2019, then paused when COVID-19 halted production. Work resumed in August 2020 to shoot the final two episodes. Season three filmed from February 2021 to mid-September 2021, and season four ran from August 2022 to January 2023. Filming for the fifth season began in July 2024.

  The series was renewed for a second season in October 2019, then for a third that December, ahead of the second season's premiere. Apple TV+ renewed it for a fourth season in July 2022 and a fifth in April 2024. A sixth and final season followed in March 2026, with its premiere set for 2027. In 2023, the writers said their goal from the start had been "about seven seasons" spanning "at least 70 years" of story.

  Seasons one and two reached Region 2 DVD and Blu-ray in late 2022. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment issued season one on Region 1 DVD and Blu-ray in November 2023, with season two following in March 2026. None of those five renewed seasons would reach viewers without a season-by-season release plan, each one built around ten weekly episodes.

• 5. Ten Episodes At A Time

  ›

  Season one premiered on Apple TV+ on the 1st of November 2019, with ten episodes released weekly through the 20th of December 2019. Season two premiered on the 19th of February 2021, running ten weekly episodes until the 23rd of April 2021. Season three followed on the 10th of June 2022, again with ten weekly episodes, closing on the 12th of August 2022. Season four premiered on the 10th of November 2023, with its ten episodes wrapping on the 12th of January 2024. Season five's premiere was announced in January 2026, for the 27th of March 2026. Its ten episodes ran weekly through the 29th of May 2026.

  That same steady, weekly rhythm gave Apple room to build extras around each release, starting with an augmented reality app timed to season two.

• 6. Beyond The Screen

  ›

  On the 11th of February 2021, ahead of the season two premiere, Apple released an augmented reality iOS app called For All Mankind: Time Capsule. The app walks users through the decade-long gap between seasons one and two. It follows the relationship between astronauts Gordo and Tracy Stevens and their son, Danny Stevens. At the 73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Time Capsule won for Outstanding Innovation in Interactive Programming.

  For season two, Apple also launched a podcast, For All Mankind: The Official Podcast, produced with At Will Media. New episodes arrived every two weeks starting the 19th of February 2021, hosted by Krys Marshall, who plays Danielle Poole. The podcast features behind-the-scenes conversations with scientists, former astronauts, and the show's cast and crew.

  For season three, Apple released a companion video series, The Science behind For All Mankind. Wrenn Schmidt, who plays Margo Madison, hosts the series, breaking down the real scientific ideas behind the show's episodes.

  All that surrounding material still left one question for critics alone to answer: how good was each season on its own?

• 7. Numbers On The Board

  ›

  Season one holds a 75% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 56 reviews. Critics called it a show that "shoots for the Moon and falls somewhere in orbit." They said it had potential for "real liftoff" if it leaned further into what set it apart. On Metacritic, the season scored 65 out of 100 from 22 critics, rated "generally favorable."

  Season two jumped to a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 27 reviews. It also earned a TCA Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Drama. Its Metacritic score rose to 75 out of 100 across 7 critics, still rated "generally favorable."

  Season three's Rotten Tomatoes score climbed to 94%, based on 36 reviews, with critics calling it "another epic adventure with an intimate focus." On Metacritic it reached 84 out of 100 from 15 critics, rated "universal acclaim."

  Season four matched season two's perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, this time from 28 reviews. One review joked, "Houston, there's no problem here," praising its "thought-provoking revisionist history." Its Metacritic score reached 83 out of 100 from 11 critics, again rated "universal acclaim."

• 8. A Trophy Case Fills In

  ›

  In 2019, For All Mankind picked up an IGN Awards nomination for Best New TV Series. Two years later, sound editor Vince Balunas earned a Golden Reel Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing. That same year, Matt Wolpert, Ben Nedivi, and Sergio Mimica-Gezzan picked up a Hugo Award nomination for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. The Producers Guild of America also nominated Time Capsule for its Innovation Award. Joel Kinnaman picked up a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series.

  In 2023, Edi Gathegi received a Hollywood Creative Alliance TV Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Drama Series. Wolpert and Nedivi picked up a second Hugo Award nomination that same year, again for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. In 2024, production designer Seth Reed earned an Art Directors Guild Award nomination for the show's one-hour fantasy design. That same year, Kimberly Wannop, Laura Harper, and Seth Reed were nominated together by the Set Decorators Society of America. For All Mankind itself picked up Saturn Award nominations for Best Fantasy Television Series in 2021, 2024, and 2025.

  Season five's new arrivals also include Ines Asserson as Avery "A.J." Jarrett, a U.S. Marine. She is training for a space mission of her own, as the daughter of Danny and Amber Stevens.