The new Apple TV+ series Star City, a spin-off from the hit alternate-history drama For All Mankind, has launched to strong reviews. The show shifts the perspective from the United States to the Soviet Union, exploring the Russian side of a space race where the USSR landed the first man on the moon.
Set in the Soviet space programme's equivalent of Cape Canaveral, Star City follows the aftermath of cosmonaut Alexei Leonov's moon landing. The series centres on Lyudmilla, a terrifying KGB colonel played by Anna Maxwell Martin, who wrote Leonov's speech praising the Marxist-Leninist way of life. The show also features Rhys Ifans as the chief designer, Niamh Algar as cosmonaut Yana, and Alice Englert as her replacement, Anastasia Belikova.
Critics have praised the show's tense atmosphere and believable depiction of life under Soviet surveillance. The series avoids the glossy blandness and occasional soapiness of its predecessor, instead delivering palpable fear and paranoia. Every character is trapped in a system where trust is absent, and every word and decision carries potentially fatal consequences.
The narrative weaves together daily compromises, accidental indiscretions, and mounting threats, including a mole hunt and a cosmonaut who goes off-script during a broadcast. For space history fans, Star City offers a deep dive into alternate possibilities, while broader audiences will find a compelling study of human nature under oppression.
