‘For All Mankind’ Season 3 changes the show in 3 huge ways here’s why – Inverse

Science fiction has never been quite like this.

In Season 3 of the critically acclaimed alternate-history series For All Mankind, the Apple TV+ series jumps ahead to the 1990s, creating a jarring kaleidoscope of retro-futurism and technological anachronisms. As series co-showrunner Matt Wolpert tells Inverse, You've got Bill Clinton running for president, and you've got a hotel in space at the same time. What world is this?

Because of the meticulous groundwork laid by its two previous seasons, For All Mankind suddenly feels like a very different show. Heres why series co-creators and showrunners Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert say Season 3 is so unique.

For the first time since For All Mankind began, the focus of the entire series has shifted away from the Moon. Instead, its all about the Red Planet.

In the shows alternate timeline, the space race didnt end in the 1960s. In Season 2, seeing a huge moonbase called Jamestown in the 80s was a novelty, but it also technically seemed possible. In Season 3, the technological differences between the 90s we remember, and the alternate history of the show are more staggering than ever.

In the very first episode of Season 3, Polaris, a fully functional commercial space hotel managed by Karen Baldwin (Shantel VanSanten) is orbiting the Earth in the year 1992.

It's not that it would have been possible in the actual 90s, Wolpert says. But it would have been possible in the alternate history version of the 90s.

Edi Gathegi as Dev Ayesa, founder of a commercial aerospace group, Helios. Apple TV+

So how does that work? Wolpert explains that because so many resources have been put into developing technologically, things got figured out earlier than in our timeline. In this version of 1992, private companies are producing their own spacecrafts. Wolpert likens this to whats happening in the private space industry today.

You see how fast and expertly SpaceX can fabricate their rockets now, he says. With Season 3, its a mashup of the past and the future.

Although the race for Mars is the biggest superficial difference in For All Mankind Season 3, the other new wrinkle is that its not just about the U.S. versus the U.S.S.R. anymore. In Season 3, tech mogul Dev Ayesa (Edi Gathegi) throws his ring in the hat with an independent aerospace group called Helios. At first blush, Dev is very much a cipher for Elon Musk, albeit one who exists several decades earlier in an alternate timeline. But its not that simple.

Everyone always says Elon Musk, co-creator Ben Nedivi says. Dev is a reflection of many different people. Steve Jobs. Jeff Bezos. Theres a commonality with a lot of these tech leaders. But outside of that, our inspiration was more about changing things up a little bit.

Up until Season 3, the basic conflict of everything thats happened on For All Mankind has been framed by a protracted space race. Along with producer Ronald D. Moore, Nedivi and Wolpert felt like it wasnt realistic, to continue to have the show focused on the U.S. versus the U.S.S.R. So they used history as their guide.

The 90s was when tech exploded, Nedivi says. So, it made sense that in a world where the space race was such a big deal, one of those 90s tech leaders would dedicate their resources, time, and energy toward the space program.

The NASA mission to Mars in For All Mankind Season 3.Apple TV+

Jarring and fascinating anachronisms have become a staple of For All Mankind. However, its not actually why the show works. Instead, just like with the previous two seasons, its the journey of the characters. But, unlike other sci-fi shows, For All Mankind isnt just interested in characters in a vacuum. In Season 3, the show proves its moving toward telling a multi-generational arc about several families: the Baldwin family, the Stevens family, the Poole family, the Rosales family, and so on.

Is For All Mankind simply One Hundred Years of Solitude as alternate history sci-fi? In Gabriel Garca Mrquezs masterpiece, the reader sees how each generation changes because of what the characters do in each chapter.

We reference that book so much, Wolpert explains. Theres the idea of generations in that book, and how the children are impacted by the choices of their parents. And were seeing that now more with Season 3.

Casey W. Johnson as Danny Stevens in For All MankindApple TV+

The most obvious examples of this in Season 3 are Danny Stevens (Casey W. Johnson) and Kelly Baldwin (Cynthy Wu), each a second-generation astronaut or scientist, in a family who, at this point, we know very well. There's this evolution of society, and seeing that through a character and family was definitely an inspiration for us, Wolpert says.

So just how many generations are we going to see? Nedivi confirms that a seven-season arc is still the loose plan, and that, eventually, the timeline of For All Mankind would surpass our own. But, that doesnt mean they have every story detail set in stone. In Season 3, there are a few babies and very young children related to the main characters. Does this mean these characters could be grandparents in Season 7?

Yeah, we have to be careful about that, Nedivi says with a laugh. Like every character, we came up with that was a child, we're like, wait! This could be a series regular and a future season! It definitely makes things a little more tricky with the generational aspect. But I think part of the joy of writing the show and what makes it so unique on television is that were able to tell the story of people's entire lifetimes.

For All Mankind Season 3 is streaming now on Apple TV+

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'For All Mankind' Season 3 changes the show in 3 huge ways here's why - Inverse