Everything To Remember About Apple TV's ‘For All Mankind’ Before ‘Star City’ Premieres

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Published May 28, 2026, 9:36 PM EDT

Julio is a Senior Author for Collider. He studied History and International Relations at university, but found his calling in cultural journalism. When he isn't writing, Julio also teaches English at a nearby school. He has lived in São Paulo most of his life, where he covers CCXP and other big events. Having loved movies, music, and TV from an early age, he prides himself in knowing every minute detail about the things he loves. When he is older, he dreams of owning a movie theater in a small countryside town.

The Season 5 finale of For All Mankind is imminent, but we'll still get our fix of this incredible alternate historical timeline even after it ends. That's because its spin-off, Star City, premieres the very same day, taking viewers back to the 1960s to follow the events that allowed the USSR to beat the U.S. to the Moon, as well as the Soviet side of the space race. So, what's important to remember from For All Mankind before Star City premieres?

The Soviets Claim Every Major Space Race Milestone Until 'For All Mankind' Season 2

The first season of For All Mankind is largely defined by how NASA responds to the Soviet Union'saccomplishments in the late 1960s and 1970s. In the series premiere, cosmonaut Alexei Leonov lands on the Moon in June 1969, three weeks before NASA's own scheduled Apollo 11 mission. His achievement is broadcast around the world, with millions watching it as he takes "this step for my country, for my people, and for the Marxist-Leninist way of life."

Under immense pressure, NASA also advances the launch of Apollo 12 by two months, only to learn a day later that they have been beaten to the punch again. On September 20, cosmonaut Anastasia Belikova becomes the first woman to land on the Moon, forcing the U.S. to adapt to this new reality again and begin training women as astronauts. The U.S. only beats the Soviets for the first time in 1973, when it establishes Jamestown Base on the Moon; even so, the Soviet base, Zvezda, is founded shortly after.

The next milestone comes from a collaborative effort between NASA and the Soviet Space Program. With tensions rising between their respective teams on the Moon, the two agencies work together on the Apollo-Soyuz mission in September 1983, as a gesture of goodwill to promote peace between their two nations. From then on, they began collaborating more often, culminating in their arrival together on Mars in the 1990s and the establishment of the Happy Valley base there.

'Star City' Features Important Characters From 'For All Mankind'

Behind each of these accomplishments is a competent team of engineers, pilots, and scientists. On the Soviet side, For All Mankind has already introduced some, with two featured as their younger versions in Star City: Sergei Nikulov (Piotr Adamczyk, played by Josef Davies in Star City) and Irina Morozova (Svetlana Efremova, played by Agnes O'Casey in Star City). Both Sergei and Irina are directors of Roscosmos at different moments, but with completely different approaches and goals.

Sergei is introduced in For All Mankind Season 2, collaborating with NASA engineer Margo Madison (Wrenn Schmidt) in developing the Apollo-Soyuz mission. The two forge a potential romance, but his likable and idealistic nature turns him into a tool for the KGB to spy on NASA through her position. She helps him defect to the U.S., but ends up defecting to Russia herself and is branded a traitor in her home country. In Season 5, Margo returns to the U.S. working for Roscosmos; Sergei tries to contact her, but is located and murdered by the KGB, seemingly on Irina's orders.

Irina, on the other hand, is a political survivalist who takes over Roscosmos after a coup d'État in the 2000s. She brings Margo to Roscosmos in Season 4 not only for her competence, but also for her political value. Together, they work with NASA to capture the Goldilocks asteroid, but everything goes wrong, and Irina ends up fired and sent to a gulag. She returns in Season 5 as a director of Kuragin, a Soviet aerospace company investing in Happy Valley.

Star City will feature other relevant characters with direct impact on For All Mankind, starting with Anastasia Belikova, played by Alice Englert. Another character, Sasha Polivanov (Solly McLeod), might be related to Leonid Polivanov (Costa Ronin), the Mars governor in For All Mankind Season 5. Star City's Chief Designer, played by Rhys Ifans, is also likely Sergei's predecessor as director of the Soviet space program.

'Star City' Is Even More of a Thriller Than 'For All Mankind'

Anna Maxwell Martin standing in front of the KGB surveillance department in Star City

The trailers for Star City have teased many characters and plot points, but they also indicate a somewhat darker tone compared to For All Mankind. The spin-off is described as a "propulsive paranoid thriller" in its official synopsis, and, considering its setting and context, it makes sense. In the main series, the Soviets are plagued by an ever-present sense of paranoia and are always deeply careful with what they say and to whom they say it, sometimes to a fault, for fear of getting in trouble.

The character roster is another hint that Star City is heavily embracing the thriller genre. The Chief Designer's fate is a major divergence on its own, since, in real life, he died during surgery, so what will happen now that he survives? Irina herself comes from a surveillance background, having installed her own reign of terror at Roscosmos during her tenure as director, but before that happens, she'll be working under the guidance of KGB head Lyudmilla Raskova (Anna Maxwell Martin). With so much already set up by For All Mankind and with a lot of ground to cover, Star City is anticipated to be just as good a sci-fi show as the main series, but with its own thriller twist.

For All Mankind is available to stream on Apple TV. Star City premieres on May 29.