Meet the Cast Powering Apple TV’s Thrilling New Space Drama ‘Star City’

Apple TV has officially launched one of its most anticipated series of the year, and it arrives with a stellar ensemble that could make even the coldest Cold War feel electric. ‘Star City’ is a spinoff of the critically acclaimed ‘For All Mankind,’ premiering on May 29, with the first two episodes available immediately and new episodes streaming each Friday. The series marks a bold creative expansion of a universe that has built one of the most loyal sci-fi audiences on any streaming platform.

Where ‘For All Mankind’ told the alt-history space race largely from an American perspective, ‘Star City’ flips the lens entirely, presenting a propulsive, paranoid thriller set behind the Iron Curtain, following the lives of cosmonauts, engineers, and intelligence officers embedded in the Soviet space program. The ambition is enormous, and the cast assembled to bring it to life is just as impressive.

The ‘For All Mankind’ Spinoff’s Soviet Ensemble

Leading the charge is Rhys Ifans, who plays the Chief Designer of the Soviet space program, the visionary and volatile architect at the center of the entire operation. Ifans, best known to genre audiences for his role in ‘House of the Dragon,’ brings a weathered intensity to a character who carries the weight of an entire nation’s ambitions on his shoulders.

Alongside him is Anna Maxwell Martin, playing Lyudmilla Raskova, the KGB’s surveillance chief embedded within the program. Martin, celebrated for her sharp comedic work in ‘Motherland,’ gets to flex considerably darker muscles here, and early buzz suggests she is a genuine standout.

Raskova is portrayed as cold and ruthless, a figure from whom other characters in the series learn some hard lessons about survival under a system that rewards conformity and punishes ambition. It is the kind of role that tends to become iconic if the show finds its audience, and all signs point to Martin delivering something special.

Alice Englert and the Show’s Most Fascinating Character Arc

Alice Englert plays Anastasia Belikova, the first woman to land on the moon, a character who was only glimpsed briefly in ‘For All Mankind’ as a face on a television screen or a name in a newspaper headline. ‘Star City’ finally gives her story the space it deserves, and it sounds like the series makes full use of that opportunity.

Showrunner Matt Wolpert has spoken about Belikova’s arc, noting that getting to explore what came before and after her achievement, especially for that character, is something the creative team finds genuinely fascinating, and that Englert brought her to life beautifully.

The trailer teases that Anastasia’s journey is as political as it is personal, with the pressures of the Soviet system bearing down on her at every turn.

Englert, who appeared in ‘Bad Behaviour,’ brings a vulnerability and quiet fire to the role that has already drawn comparisons to some of the finest performances in the parent series. The spinoff does not seek to rewrite established history, but it does shine a light on storylines that were mere footnotes before, and Anastasia’s is arguably the most compelling of them all.

Recast Roles and the Connective Tissue With ‘For All Mankind’

One of the more intriguing challenges the production faced was handling characters who already existed in ‘For All Mankind,’ played by different actors. Because ‘Star City’ takes place earlier in the same timeline, several roles had to be recast to reflect younger versions of characters audiences have already met, something showrunner Matt Wolpert described as certainly complicated, given how much the team loves the actors who played the older versions.

Agnes O’Casey takes on the role of Irina Morozova, a character previously played by Svetlana Efremova in ‘For All Mankind,’ while Josef Davies steps into the role of Sergei Nikulov, who was portrayed by Piotr Adamczyk in the original series. Both are charged with honoring what came before while charting entirely new emotional territory.

Wolpert has said that Davies brilliantly captures the intelligence and warmheartedness of Sergei Nikulov, while O’Casey’s Irina offers a chance to explore a younger woman who has not yet become the cold and powerful figure audiences encountered in ‘For All Mankind,’ with the series tracking how she evolved into that person. That kind of layered character work is exactly what fans of the franchise have come to expect.

Cosmonauts, Spies, and the Rest of the ‘Star City’ Cast

Solly McLeod, another ‘House of the Dragon’ alumnus, plays Sasha Polivanov, a reckless cosmonaut who has yet to live up to his enormous potential. It is the type of role McLeod has shown he can handle with charisma and unpredictability, and his dynamic with the rest of the ensemble looks to be one of the show’s most entertaining threads.

Adam Nagaitis, who made a haunting impression in ‘Chernobyl,’ joins the cast as cosmonaut Valya Markelova, with Ruby Ashbourne Serkis playing Tanya Markelova, and Josef Davies rounding out the ensemble as Sergei Nikulov. The addition of Priya Kansara, fresh off her breakout in ‘Bridgerton,’ as gifted scientist Lakshmi adds yet another dynamic to an already richly layered world.

The series is produced by Sony Pictures Television, with Ronald D. Moore and Maril Davis from Tall Ship Productions serving as executive producers alongside showrunners Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert, Andrew Chambliss, and Steve Oster. That level of creative infrastructure gives ‘Star City’ every structural advantage it needs to succeed.

A New Chapter in the ‘For All Mankind’ Universe

Ronald D. Moore has spoken about the distinct atmosphere of the Soviet space program, noting its boldness and the difficult conditions its people operated under, including the presence of KGB personnel in mission control, which gives the show a layer of espionage and Cold War tension that feels distinct even within the familiar ‘For All Mankind’ framework.

Wolpert has confirmed there will be Easter eggs throughout the series for devoted fans of the flagship show, but has made clear that ‘Star City’ is designed as a fresh entry point as well, a character-driven thriller that works even for those who have never seen a single episode of ‘For All Mankind.’ That kind of dual accessibility is a rare and genuinely exciting quality in a spinoff series.

Early reviews have described the premiere as breathlessly tense and oddly moving, evoking the best qualities of its parent show while establishing its own distinct Cold War atmosphere and sense of paranoia. With this cast firing on all cylinders from episode one, ‘Star City’ looks poised to become Apple TV’s next prestige obsession. Which cast member’s role are you most excited to follow through the season?