Star City Launch Marks New Chapter in Apple TV+ Sci-Fi Slate

Apple TV+ will debut *Star City* on May 29, releasing the first two episodes together. Subsequent episodes will arrive weekly on Fridays, concluding on July 10, aligning with the final episode of *For All Mankind* season 5, which also airs on May 29.

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*For All Mankind* season 5 ends the alternate-history space drama that launched Apple TV+’s original sci-fi lineup, while *Star City* shifts focus to the Soviet Union’s space race after it becomes the first nation to land a human on the Moon, presenting a Cold-War perspective distinct from its predecessor.

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Creators Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert emphasized that *Star City* is an independent narrative, not a companion piece to *For All Mankind*, highlighting a darker, spy-thriller tone, a focus on Cold-War paranoia, and expressing pride in expanding Apple TV+’s sci-fi catalog; the series stars Rhys Ifans and Anna Maxwell Martin. The creators expressed hope that audiences will love the series.

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Observers have suggested *Star City* is a spinoff of *For All Mankind* due to shared creators, but the creators reject this, arguing the shows differ in tone, focus, and historical framing.

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Wolpert described *Star City* as a spinoff of another original idea, while other statements from the creators deny a direct spinoff relationship, reflecting differing interpretations of the series’ lineage.

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• “Of course, it's natural that you compare them,” Nedivi says. “But I think for us, we were just so creatively inspired to make something that felt different, that felt like its own show.” — Ben Nedivi, Creator

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• “I think we probably wouldn't have made Star City if it was trying to be a companion piece to For All Mankind.” — Ben Nedivi, Creator

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• “I think we really have captured something about the sense of paranoia and the spy thriller aspect of the story.” — Ben Nedivi, Creator

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• “For All Mankind was one of the first, if not the first, sci-fi show on Apple TV. So I feel like we're the originals. We started the trend,” — Matt Wolpert, Creator

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• “It was a wholly original idea, and now we have a spinoff of another original idea with an original idea.” — Matt Wolpert, Creator

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Apple TV+ will continue weekly releases through July 10, and creators hint at future seasons exploring the space race’s geopolitical dimensions.

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