Apple has dropped a new trailer for its upcoming streaming series For All Mankind, showing off an alternate space race in which the Soviet Union beats the United States to the Moon.
We’ve seen a couple of brief trailers for the series that outline its premise, but this one shows off a bit more behind the title itself: in this alternate space race, President Richard Nixon tells NASA that he wants a woman to be part of the mission. From there, the space agency allows a number of women to become astronaut candidates. Cue scenes of the astronauts training, contending with the danger of the mission, and taking part in orbital missions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3RjayAF0b4
The series hails from Ron Moore, who’s best known for his reboot of Battlestar Galactica for the SCI FI channel, as well as his adaptation of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series for Stars. The series will feature Joel Kinnaman (Altered Carbon), Michael Dorman (Patriot), Wrenn Schmidt (Person of Interest), Sarah Jones (Alcatraz), Shantel VanSanten (The Flash), and Jodi Balfour (True Detective).
As I’ve noted on Twitter, the premise feels like it’s very similar to that of Mary Robinette Kowal’s Lady Astronaut novels, The Calculating Stars and The Fated Sky — which follow an alternate world in which the United States launches a moonshot program after an asteroid strikes the Atlantic Ocean. While there is certainly a bit of a different premise here, it looks as though the two share some similarities in theme: a largely male establishment reluctant to bring women into a space program, and a group of female candidates who are determined to prove their doubts wrong.
The series is part of Apple’s push into the streaming TV marketplace. It’ll launch its own streaming service, Apple TV Plus, on November 1st, and For All Mankind will be one of the first shows on the platform, along with Dickinson, The Morning Show, and See, a post-apocalyptic series featuring Jason Momoa. The platform will launch on November 1st, and will cost $4.99 a month. (Those who purchase a new Apple device will get a year’s subscription for free).
