Apple TV’s new space-race thriller does something unique, first reviews here

Star City premieres on Apple TV this week, a spinoff of the space-race drama For All Mankind. Here’s what the first reviews for Star City are saying.

Star City offers new twist on alt-history space race that feels very different from For All Mankind

Later this week, For All Mankind’s season 5 finale will air on the same day that a new spinoff series launches.

Star City premieres this Friday, May 29 with its first two episodes, followed by weekly releases through July 10.

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The new series follows the alt-history events of For All Mankind, but from the Soviets’ perspective. And the first reviews indicate it’s a very different kind of show.

• JoBlo: “this is not just a rehash of what we have already seen…You will be surprised by how unprepared you are for where the narrative takes this first season”
• The Daily Beast: “It’s a shockingly grim complement to the streamer’s inherently hopeful hit, although that doesn’t mean it’s lesser. Rather, with a bleakness that’s as compelling as its predecessor’s optimism, it wrings taut drama…from the story of Eastern Bloc men and women trying, at great personal and moral risk, to foster innovation under the thumb of authoritarianism.
• TV Is Good: “It’s both a space show and an espionage show. It’s sort of For All Mankind crossed with The Americans. There’s so much more paranoia here.”