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Apple TV’s First Sci-Fi Universe Is Officially Taking Over Streaming

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Apple TV is entering a new phase — one marked by its continued production of high-quality shows that have attracted acclaim and awards. But this new phase leans into what is currently sustaining many streaming services and networks: franchises. The streamer has expressed interest in expanding the universes of some of its biggest shows, with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Severance, and Ted Lasso in consideration. However, one of the earliest contenders for a spin-off is the streamer’s oldest sci-fi series, and that plan recently materialized.

When Apple TV launched in 2019, one of its earliest original shows was For All Mankind. It is an alt-history sci-fi drama about the moon race. But in this show’s reality, the Soviets beat America and became the first to land a man on the moon. Throughout the past seven years, the show has explored various other space-related arcs, including Mars, space minerals, and extraterrestrial life. The recent season concluded last week, with the show expected to end with the upcoming season. But that’s where the streamer’s franchise ambitions come in.

Enter Star City, an offshoot of For All Mankind that explores the same events from the mothership, but from the Soviet perspective. Season 1 blends the authoritarianism of the Soviet political landscape with the attempt to achieve a major feat. Star City premiered on May 29, on the same day the flagship series was signing off for the season. And now, Apple TV’s first sci-fi franchise is officially live and making a mark on streaming. FlixPatrol has Star City and For All Mankind back-to-back on the streamer’s global chart, ranked third and fourth, respectively.

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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz
Which Sci-Fi Hero Are You Most Like?
Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky

Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one.

🏜️Paul Atreides

🖖Capt. Kirk

Princess Leia

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🔦Ellen Ripley

🔥Max Rockatansky

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01

How do you lead when the stakes couldn’t be higher?
The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you.





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02

What is your greatest strength in a crisis?
The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails.





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03

What is the thing you’d sacrifice everything else for?
Your deepest motivation is your truest compass.





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04

How do you relate to the people around you?
Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are.





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05

You’re facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do?
How you respond when you’re the only one who sees it defines everything.





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06

What has your heroism cost you personally?
Every hero pays. The question is what — and whether they’d pay it again.





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07

How do you feel about the rules of the world you’re in?
Every hero has a relationship with the system. What’s yours?





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08

When everything is on the line, what keeps you going?
The answer is the most honest thing about you.





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Your Hero Has Been Identified
Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…

Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.

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Arrakis · Dune

Paul Atreides

You carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you’re capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.

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  • You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you.
  • You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn’t ask for but can’t escape.
  • Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway.
  • That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won’t, is exactly you.


USS Enterprise · Star Trek

Captain Kirk

You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you’ve always believed there’s a third option nobody else has thought of yet.

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  • You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously.
  • Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you’ve earned it.
  • Kirk’s genius isn’t tactical — it’s human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction.
  • That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours.


The Rebellion · Star Wars

Princess Leia

You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you’re fearless, but because giving up simply isn’t something you’re capable of.

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  • You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable.
  • You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you’ve never looked back.
  • Leia is not a supporting character in her own story — she is the moral centre of the entire rebellion.
  • That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you.


The Nostromo · Alien

Ellen Ripley

You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone’s hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters.

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  • You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself.
  • Ripley’s heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn’t have a speech — she has a flamethrower and a plan.
  • You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn’t there.
  • When it counts, you don’t flinch. That’s everything.


The Wasteland · Mad Max

Max Rockatansky

You have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril.

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  • You don’t ask for help, don’t need validation, and don’t wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply.
  • Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it’s earned in silence and tested in action, not in words.
  • Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting.
  • That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours.

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Is the ‘For All Mankind’ Universe Worth Investing In?

Both shows have received consistently high ratings, even though recent seasons of For All Mankind have faltered in storytelling quality. Star City has been lauded for establishing itself as a distinct experience through its mix of political paranoia and scientific invention. Still, the universe carries the Apple TV mark of quality, characterized by fresh ideas executed well, delivering quality storytelling through character-centric narratives. It helps that the shows have a high budget and don’t compromise in many respects. With the success this universe is seeing, Apple TV can safely jump into the franchise and spin-off game without worrying about having a bad precedent. Whether Severance or Ted Lasso becomes the next franchise remains to be seen.

Stream Star City and For All Mankind on Apple TV, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.


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Release Date

May 28, 2026

Network

Apple TV

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Showrunner

Ben Nedivi, Matt Wolpert

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Cast

  • Anna Maxwell Martin

    Lyudmilla Raskova

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  • Agnes O’Casey

    Irina Morozova

  • Alice Englert

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    Anastasia Belikova

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