An upcoming drama telling an alternative history of the space race between the US and Soviet Union is a “deeply feminist” show, one of its stars has said.
For All Mankind is among the first wave of content on Apple’s new streaming service, as the technology giant prepares for a showdown with rivals including Netflix and Disney.
The series is set in an alternate history where the Soviet Union beats the US in landing the first man on the moon, leaving America reeling.
As a result, the space race never ends, with both super powers continuing to pour billions of dollars into extra terrestrial missions.
History will be rewritten. Boundaries will be shattered. Convention will be redefined.
A new giant leap begins November 1. #ForAllMankind is coming to the @AppleTV app with an Apple TV+ subscription.https://t.co/X5pSUzv49i pic.twitter.com/rALmx0O4vT
— For All Mankind (@forallmankind_) September 26, 2019
One of the differences in the US is a change of emphasis away from male astronauts, with Nasa instead determined to become the first to put a woman on the moon.
British-American actress Sonya Walger stars as one of the first female astronauts and said she enjoyed playing a character who was “taken seriously”.
Speaking at the For All Mankind premiere in Los Angeles, she told the PA news agency: “The ripple effects are so subtle and huge and profound, it’s really wonderful. It’s also just really fun in this moment of history to play a woman who is being taken seriously at a time when she wasn’t.”
She added: “It’s such a deeply feminist show, it’s really wonderful.”
Apple, a company best known for its hardware include the iPad and iPhone, is entering the highly competitive world of streaming with its Apple TV+ service, which will launch around the world on November 1.
The platform will launch with exclusive series including a new version of Amazing Stories from Steven Spielberg, drama The Morning Show starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon and Jason Momoa-starring sci-fi drama See.
It will be up against market leader Netflix, while Disney and its formidable stable of content will enter the ring later in the month.
For All Mankind co-creator Ronald D Moore, best known for his work on TV series Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, said he did not feel any added pressure being on the frontline of Apple’s push into the streaming.
“It’s great to be part of the first wave of shows for a new network like this,” he said.
“Apple’s an amazing company. I’ve been a fan since the original Macintosh came out. I wrote my first screenplay on a Macintosh, so it’s really great – they’re very prestigious, they have an enormous reputation and it’s great to be part of it.”
Moore added: “Doing a TV show in general is a lot of pressure, and there’s a lot of pressure to get it right and do something good. I don’t know if we felt additional pressure on top of that, as part of the first wave. But I’m sure the people above us did.”
For All Mankind, also starring Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman and Wrenn Schmidt, will launch on Apple TV+in the UK on November 1.