For All Mankindseason 5 is coming relatively soon to slowly but surely bring its alternate history timeline ever closer to our present. The latest season is set in 2012–a nine-year jump fromFor All Mankindseason 4, and will continue to explore the hypotheticals of a never-ending Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. As with season 4, the next outing is expected to spend most of its time on Mars.
The series has long been praised by critics and casual viewers alike, withScreenRant’sFor All Mankindseason 4 reviewcalling the future of the series“in very safe hands.”Those hands belong to co-creators Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi, among others, who return to bring new twists, turns, and historically-informed science fiction creations to the screen. The trio have also created a spinoff series titledStar Citywhich will turn its lens toward the Soviet space program, imagining the events ofFor All Mankindfrom an entirely different perspective.
ScreenRant’s Joe Deceklmeier spoke separately with Ronald D. Moore and Matt Wolpert & Ben Nedivi about their work onFor All Mankindseason 5. The creators discussed the state of Happy Valley on Mars and teased the existential decisions those on the planet must make. Plus, they revealed exciting information about what’s to come inStar City.
Why Interstellar Tensions Prove “The Scope Of” This Apple TV+ Sci-Fi Series’ Next Season Revealed By Creators
“Five Seasons Later, It’s About Earth And Mars”
For All Mankindhas never seemed to shy away from its ambitions. From its opening moments depicting an alternate history to its time jumps in each new season, the show constantly eschews small steps for giant leaps. According to co-creator Ben Nedivi,For All Mankindseason 5 continues that trend in a big way.“Season 4 ended with the idea … that Mars had captured this asteroid,”he said,“so, I think what that’s going to lead to in season 5 is a lot more tension between Earth and Mars.”
“The idea that the show … started in season 1 as tension between [the] Soviet Union and the United States, and now, five seasons later, it’s about Earth and Mars, tells you about the scope of the show and how far we’ve come.”
“I think that’s really one of the central things of this season,”Nedivi continued,“and I think that’s going to excited the fans who’ve been following us.”
Co-creator Ronald D. Moore added his own perspective, addressing the somewhat existential nature of the situation for those on Mars:“[Season 5] is about Mars, primarily, and what happens to the people on Mars. How do they move from explorers to colonists? Is there a sense of who they are as a people? Are they a nation? Are they moving towards a break with Earth? Are they not? What are the ties? What are the conflicts of that, and how does it affect all of the individual players? It is a really interesting time in the overall story.”
For All Mankindseason 5 may take place 43 years after the show’s first season, but you can expect to see some of the familiar faces you’ve spent the rest of the show with.“Some of our tried and true characters, like Ed Baldwin and Miles Dale,will be coming back,”Matt Wolpert revealed,“as well as Kelly and Aleida and some new characters.”
“[The new characters] are especially fun,”Wolpert added,“because several of them are the children and grandchildren of other characters. So, that’s one of the fun things about this show–you’re starting with characters you meet in season 1, and in season 5, you’re meeting their grandkids, and it’s wild.”
For All Mankind’s Relationship With Historical Accuracy, Explained
“The Butterfly Effect Increases”
Part of the effectiveness ofFor All Mankind’s first few seasons had to do with their believability.“They really spoke to the space program as it really existed in the ‘60s and the ‘70s and into the ‘80s, and what could have been,”Moore said.“We took a lot of time in those first two years looking through NASA’s original designs and lots of projects they had never gotten off the ground. It was really eye-opening to realize they had all these ideas.”
Moore continued, saying,“The Sea Dragon rocket that we showcased in seasons one and two was a real design. They really came up with that idea, and the plans for what the space stations would be like. It was just fascinating.”
Of course, the show has only strayed further from reality as it has continued. When asked if an officialFor All Mankindtimeline guide would be released, Matt Wolpert said“it’s going to take 20 years of our lives to put that together.”
Ben Nedivi jumped in, saying“it would be like [a] Bible of a book. It would be thousands of pages because, in the beginning, it was like, “Oh, it’d be nice if we change this or change this.” Season 2 was still sort of manageable.Now, it’s getting to the point where almost everything is new, so if you notice those news montages from the beginning of every season … you’ll see that with each one, the butterfly effect increases. Now, the changes are based on changes that we already did earlier, so it’s getting to be crazy.
“It’s sort of interesting to play on, ‘What is the alt history, now that we’ve gone 50 years into it?’”
For All Mankind’s Attention To Detail Inspired Star City
Enough “Insane” Stories Presented Themselves To Warrant A Spinoff
Star Citywill take viewers back to the 1970s, but rather than simply rehash the events ofFor All Mankind, it will explore the Soviet perspective. The idea, Ben Nedivi said, came out of discoveries the creators made when researching the flagship show.“As we were working [on] For All Mankind, we kept reading and hearing about different stories from the Soviet perspective,”he said,“and every time we’d hear a story, it was like, ‘That’s insane.’ They were really the wild, wild West in a way–the wild, wild East.”
“They were doing things like sending ships up without any research or any risk aversion. It was like, ‘Let’s go for it.’”
“[The Soviets were] putting people’s lives at risk,Nedivi continued,“because they wanted to beat the Americans, or they wanted to get head.So, for us, it was really [that] the more we read about it, the more we were sure we needed to do the show.”
Star City’s Differences From For All Mankind Explained
“‘We’re Taking The Risk’”
That lack of risk aversion from the Soviets became a main theme ofStar City, and proves to be one major difference between that show andFor All Mankind.“In the first season of For All Mankind, it’s all about the risks, and ‘Are we willing to take the risks?’”Nedivi shared, adding that“In Star City, there’s no question: ‘We’re taking the risk.’”
Matt Wolpert also highlighted that the show“really is like a spy thriller”because of“the lens of what it was like to live an authoritarian system, where you have to look over your shoulder.There is that thriller elementthat I think people are really going to love.”That’s a stark contrast fromFor All Mankind,Wolpert added:“Space is very dangerous in For All Mankind, and I think one of the hallmark changes is that Earth is where it’s dangerous in Star City.”
For All Mankindseasons 1 through 4 are streaming now on Apple TV+.
