In 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to land on the moon. In Apple TV’s alternative-history sci-fiction drama “For All Mankind,” which premiered in 2019, creators Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi illustrate what might have happened if the Soviet Union had actually beaten the United States to the moon. The long-running series, which will air its sixth and final season in 2027, imagines a very different America than the one we know. Now, in a new spinoff series “Star City,” an intense, immaculate paranoid thriller, Moore, Wolpert and Nedivi are going behind the Iron Curtain to explore their alternative universe from the perspective of the Soviet space program. Impeccably acted (despite the wonky accents) and rife with intrigue, “Star City” is dark, compelling and completely impressive. It works beautifully as a standalone without any prior knowledge of “For All Mankind.”
Sergei Korolev, the godfather of the Soviet Space program, died in 1966, and as a result, the Soviet Moon project collapsed. In “Star City,” Korolev lives on as the Chief Designer (Rhys Ifans). However, this story does not launch by centering the architect of the cosmonaut training center. Instead, it begins with two different women. It’s 1969, and a frightened woman is startled awake by banging on her apartment door. After telling her young child to go back to sleep, she gets dressed and is ushered into a car, in a terrifying sequence of events. As she is led down a dimly lit corridor, she starts pleading with the soldiers escorting her, assuring them her husband, Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov (Sam Wilkinson), is loyal to his country. Just as her panic starts to consume her, she finds herself in a control room where the Chief Designer is waiting. He points to a screen where the woman watches in awe as Alexei steps onto the moon, becoming the first man ever to do so.
Sometime later, Irina Morozova (Agnes O’Casey) walks briskly across the apartment complexes in Star City to get to her job. After being checked by security and moving through endless hallways, she rushes to her desk. Irina is the newest member of the surveillance department in Star City, helmed by the malevolent Lyudmilla Raskova (Anna Maxwell Martin), the head of the KGB surveillance. Having recently moved from Moscow with her young daughter Zoya (Eadie Johnson), Irina has been tasked with surveilling the home of acclaimed cosmonaut Valya Markelov (Adam Nagaitis) and his wife, Tanya (Ruby Ashbourne Serkis), a former professional pianist who feels the walls of Star City closing in on her. Listening in on the couple’s conversations isn’t exactly an enticing job for the ambitious young woman, but she does begin to feel a connection with Tanya, whom she comes to know through her spying. Inventive engineer Sergei Nikulov (Josef Davies) also feels constrained by his role, but a dangerous new venture gives him something to look forward to.
As the center of space ingenuity, Leonov’s moon-landing should be a celebratory time for those working and living in Star City. Unfortunately, it becomes increasingly tense, and rife for backstabbing. Though the Chief Designer, who is himself forbidden to leave the Soviet Union, has his sights set on new missions, he is directed to focus solely on the moon. This is a male-dominated program, but the female cosmonauts, including the outspoken and self-assured Yana Akhmatova (Niamh Algar) and the anxiety-riddled Anastasia Belikova (Alice Englert), wonder if they will ever get their time in the spotlight. Meanwhile, gifted scientist Chada Lakshmi (Priya Kansara), an Indian transplant, finds herself sequestered in the corner of a dilapidated lab. Finally, Sasha Polivanov (Solly McLeod), a defiant cosmonaut, frustrates Valya with his devil-may-care attitude despite the solemn surroundings.
While the talk of space, science and ships orbits surround the narrative, “Star City” is riveting because of its characters. For fear of sabotage, death or something even worse, no one in Star City can reveal who they truly are. Instead, the audience is offered glimmers of the truth here and there, which act as puzzle pieces throughout the eight-episode first season. (Critics received five for review.) Cloaked in a gloomy gray tone coloring for a prison-like setting, “Star City” creators unveil not simply a stifling world, but one on the verge of consuming itself and its genius with tyranny and ghastly rigidity.
A heavy, thought-provoking drama that pulls viewers deeper into the plot as it moves forward, “Star City” may be revisionist history, but it’s also a reminder of the most beautiful and horrific aspects of humanity. More than just a tale about the race for cosmic dominance, this is a story about risks, chance and every sacrifice made to achieve immortality.
The first two episodes of “Star City” debut May 29 on Apple TV, with the remaining episodes airing weekly on Fridays.