Apple TV is taking viewers back to the alternate-history space race, but this time the perspective is flipped. Star City, the highly anticipated spin-off of the acclaimed series For All Mankind, has dropped its final trailer ahead of a global premiere on Friday, May 29, 2026. The eight-episode series will launch with its first two episodes, followed by weekly installments every Friday through July 10.
The show shifts the focus from the American space program to the Soviet side of the lunar competition, exploring the lives of cosmonauts, engineers, and intelligence officers embedded within the Soviet space program. The official synopsis describes it as a "propulsive paranoid thriller" set at the pivotal moment when the Soviet Union becomes the first nation to land a man on the moon. Instead of simply rehashing the original series, Star City leans into espionage, surveillance, and the human cost of winning history at any cost.
The creative team behind the series includes Ben Nedivi, Matt Wolpert, and Ronald D. Moore, with Wolpert and Nedivi serving as showrunners and executive producers alongside Moore, Maril Davis, Andrew Chambliss, and Steve Oster. Sony Pictures Television produces the series for Apple TV. This marks another bold expansion of the For All Mankind universe, which has already earned a reputation as one of Apple's best sci-fi dramas.
The cast is led by Rhys Ifans (House of the Dragon, Notting Hill), Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland, Line of Duty), Agnes O'Casey (Black Doves, Lies We Tell), Alice Englert (Bad Behaviour, Beautiful Creatures), Solly McLeod (House of the Dragon, The Dead Don't Hurt), Adam Nagaitis (Chernobyl, The Terror), Ruby Ashbourne Serkis (I, Jack Wright, The Serpent Queen), Josef Davies (Andor, The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself), and Priya Kansara (Bridgerton, Polite Society). The ensemble blends prestige TV veterans with rising talent, a smart move for a spin-off that aims to expand an existing world without simply copying it.
Apple TV+ continues to build its sci-fi library with ambitious projects. Alongside Star City, the streamer has seen success with series like Silo, which recently surged back into the platform's top 10 ahead of its third season, and Foundation, which continues its global domination as a sci-fi juggernaut. Star City adds a fresh, Cold War-infused twist to the genre.
With its final trailer now out, the series looks sharper than expected, promising a tense, character-driven thriller that explores the risks taken by those behind the Iron Curtain to propel humankind forward. Star City premieres on Apple TV+ on May 29, 2026.
