Star City blends For All Mankind optimism with The Americans drama

Star City, Apple TV's spin-off of For All Mankind, imagines an alternate history in which the Soviets reached the Moon first. The series follows the cosmonauts and the man known as the Chief Designer (Rhys Ifans) as they push for spaceflight while navigating KGB influence and Soviet state priorities.

Anchored in the same timeline as For All Mankind, Star City leans as much on espionage as on sci‑fi, carving out its own drama within the franchise. Surveillance and tradecraft figure prominently, prompting comparisons to The Americans. Irina Morozova (Agnes O'Casey) begins by transcribing surveillance recordings and soon draws the attention of KGB head Lyudmilla Raskova (Anna Maxwell Martin), while characters first mentioned in For All Mankind, such as Anastasia Belikova (Alice Englert), are given fuller roles.

Like The Americans' Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, many characters face ethical dilemmas as they operate under constant state scrutiny.

Soviet Union

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