AppleTV+’s For All Mankind at NYCC

(CINEMATOLOGIA USA)

The show might be the one we’re most excited for.

We got the chance to interview the cast of “For All Makind” Shantel VanSanten (“CSI: NY”, “One Tree Hill”, “The Flash”) as Karen Baldwin, Wrenn Schmidt (“The Looming Tower”) as Margo Madison, Sarah Jones (“Damnation”) as Tracy Stevens, Michael Dorman (“Patriot”, “Wonderland”) as Gordo Stevens, Jodi Balfour (“Bomb Girls”) as Ellen Waverly with the participation of “Battlestar Galactica” and “Outlander” boss Ronald D. Moore who executive produce alongside Golden Globes nominee Maril Davis.

The Apple Original series FOR ALL MANKIND upends the reality of the United States triumphing in the “space race” to the moon, by exploring an alternate history in which the Russians get there first. But this massive setback for NASA – and for the U.S. itself – is just the beginning of an aspirational story that sees the American space program remain a priority and continue to spur the imaginations, hopes and dreams of a nation. The continuing drive to overtake the Soviets would push NASA to take bigger risks, driving the country to even greater heights of scientific and technical achievements and advances. Historical events would take different paths, and social change would unfold in unexpected ways. It’s a world of limitless possibilities.

Season one of FOR ALL MANKIND is set in Houston, Texas, home to NASA headquarters, and introduces us to the space program’s innovators, astronauts, administrators, and their families, through the prism of an alternate history timeline. In the context of this new world that’s both familiar and stunningly altered, the series highlights the everyday lives of the characters who are shaping it, along with their recognizable and relatable personal challenges. As Neil Armstrong pointed out, space exploration has always been defined by the dichotomy between “man” and “mankind” – the personal and the far-reaching. The incredible, almost god-like feats that changed the world are balanced with the issues we all face, every day.

The executive production stated in the interview that they’re always compared to a “Mad Max” universe, but that the story will follow another plot. “It is the change of society…and then the world community as a result of stepping more strongly out into space,” Moore added. He spoke brilliantly that it’s all about the characters’ lives, their intimacies, that’s what gets the audience, all the other things will come later.
He also stated all other “stories in space” shows have nothing to do with what this drama is about. He wants the audience to continue to feel familiar with the story they already know, but in a different way.
When asked what the biggest difficulty with this show was, he said that there are multiple challenges, recreating the scene in space, recreating the detailed stories, all have to work together and Maril Davis added that she believes one of the biggest challenges is the clothes of the astronauts, because the weather it‘s very hot and the helmet is heavy and all the actor’s effort has to be congratulated.
Instead of the moon landing as we know it, Neil Armstrong bellowing “one small step for man,” astronauts planting the U.S. flag, For All Mankind posits a world in which the Soviets beat U.S to it.
The show will travel back to the late 1960s and early 1970s, reimagining a key moment in world history.

The audience at the ‘For All Mankind’ panel got to see the first fifteen minutes of the first episode, and a panel interview with executive producer Moore and lead cast with the presence of the actor Joel Kinnaman (“House of Cards”,”The Killing”) who will play the main character Edward Baldwin.

The series premiere November 1st on Apple TV+. You can check out the show’s trailer below:

Interview by Jac Gobeth.