Every Potential ‘For All Mankind’ Spinoff Idea After Star City, Ranked by Hit Factor

For All Mankind’s spin-off, Star City, became a massive hit with critics and audiences following a fabulous debut season. Set in the same universe, we go to see the Soviet Union’s perspective in the space race to conquer the moon. What was extremely interesting was the unique tone that Star City took, telling a grounded story of espionage mixed with the thrills of space exploration.

Apple TV is clearly doing wonders with its IP, allowing creators and showrunners to creatively move in different directions by taking artistic risks the way the golden age of television did. After the success of Star City Season 1, there is potential for so many more stories (the real Soviet space program stories) that can be explored in the same universe. Whether it’s politics, corporate shenanigans, or more space thrills, we can think of ten ideas that future spin-offs can explore, ranked by the potential to become a hit.

10 Children of Apollo Pilots

The Apollo pilots were space pioneers and are still spoken about to this day for their brave journey into space, followed by their tragic demise. For All Mankind has always had the grandeur of a big space stakes, meaning this generational family story would fit right in.

The concept is at the bottom of the list, given that the story would be unlike the tone of either of the two shows, leaning more towards a family drama as the hook. If NASA and the children were to undertake missions to space, it would be relatively interesting, but only as an idea or short story.

9 Space Hotels Satire

A space-hotel spinoff would weave well into a modern concept of luxury hotels in space. With political games to get reservations into the hotel, coupled with tourism and class conflict, we could get a really interesting satire. For All Mankind has established itself on the moon, meaning we’re not too far away from this coming to fruition.

Compared to Star City, the angle could also lean towards mega-politicians having secret meetings in space to conquer the rest of the planets. This ranks at #9 for being an interesting eat-the-rich angle to explore, but would potentially fall short of space exploration thrills. Luxury hotels can even borrow from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, particularly The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, to give the subgenre a homage.

8 Cold War Spy Thriller

Fresh off the energy from Star City, fans would certainly eat up a Cold War spy thriller set in America during the space race. We’ve been getting the perspective of the engineers and some of the politics taking place in Star City’s base. However, going towards America and its espionage would act as a great catalyst to the storyline in Star City.

The concept ranks low at #8 for being too similar in tone to Star City, having too much overlap for the opportunity to create more unique concepts. While there will still be massive sabotage and manipulation surrounding nuclear anxieties, we’ve generally seen far too many shows or movies set in this timeline already.

7 Alternate Dystopian Time-Leap

Imagine a future in the alt-history For All Mankind where all the decisions to transform Earth and space happen… but not in the way we expected. Turning the future into a dystopian hellscape would make for a completely new kind of visual aesthetic, with a plotline that could literally be anything.

The idea ranks at #7 for being a genuine curiosity about where the show is headed. Taking a large leap forward is a double-edged sword, potentially taking a lot of intrigue away while introducing a larger and more exciting storyline.

6 Lunar Mining With Turf Wars

Building off the central conflict of taking over the moon, mining on the lunar surface seems like a logical next step for resources. These could be traded for high commodity value or even used in research. The possibilities of using lunar soil and rocks are endless, making for an interesting concept that could once again blend genres.

A turf war over who gets to mine resources, combined with a high-concept premise of what to do with the resources, sounds exactly like something the creators of this Apple TV universe would be into. It ranks at #6 for not being as exciting as the others higher up on the list, but it definitely stands its own ground.

5 International Space Agencies

Feeling like a natural step in For All Mankind’s direction, this would essentially set up another region’s say in the space race aside from the U.S. or the U.S.S.R. We’ve seen hints that these aren’t the only two big superpowers in the rivalry clash, so how will other nations respond?

With an endless repertoire of countries to choose from, the creators can make a multi-agency storyline in the universe that stands on its own ground while being interconnected in the most interesting of ways. The risk here is what puts it at #5 and not higher, given that what we’ve established heavily are the two big nations, potentially making this spin-off feel more disjointed.

4 Commercial Space Race

An amalgamation of the two shows would be perfect for a commercial space race idea. This concept feels much closer to reality, where corporations have a lot of say in what is going on in space. Clashes over territory, technology, and even influence could prove to be a great social commentary on where we are as a society.

Of course, the creators would do this in their own style, making for an interesting blend of political games within space agencies. We’ve seen hints of this in For All Mankind, where commercial pressures shape space policy. The idea sits high at #4, but where it lacks a solid foundation is the ambition and reverse tone compared to Star City, and For All Mankind’s more sci-fi nature.

3 NASA Ensemble

Breaking into the top 3 is the wonderful concept of seeing the NASA ensemble shape the future while the show sheds a spotlight on every single worker, including admins. The look into NASA from the context of an alt-history would provide such interesting stories of how they operate, allowing for any genre to be explored in the realm of space.

For All Mankind and Star City have already given us the foundation for this, so all the creators need to do is make a spin-off. While it will be less visually stunning, given that everything will happen on the ground, we will get a set of powerful character-driven storylines.

2 Moon Base Political Thriller

What everyone would be hungry for is certainly a political thriller on the Moon. We haven’t seen anything like this before, and it will be a super interesting sequel/spin-off to the storylines of For All Mankind and Star City. Lunar operations have always felt high-stakes, driven by politics at its very core.

This sits at #2 as it does not go as far as where we’ve gone: Mars, but it certainly would be an instant click for anyone glossing over the logline for a show like this. The concept fits well into what both shows are going for, and we’ll get to see the two big nations fight over the moon.

1 Mars Colony Origin Story

The best concept for a spin-off is the Mars story. Fans of For All Mankind would throw good money to see a colony being established on Mars, pushing human ambition to the next stage of civilization. The potential for science fiction stories, human stories, and everything else is nearly endless.

This ranks #1 for having everything: high-stakes space thrills, stunning visuals, and political games. This would be the easiest to integrate into the universe and would become an instant hit for fans of The Martian and Interstellar who are thirsting for colonization on other planets.

Here is a summary of the potential spin-off ideas.

RankTitleBrief Description

1	Mars Colony Origin Story	Founding humanity’s first Mars colony with high-stakes sci-fi and politics
2	Moon Base Political Thriller	Power struggles and geopolitical conflict set on a lunar base
3	NASA Ensemble	Character-driven stories focusing on NASA workers behind the scenes
4	Commercial Space Race	Corporations competing for dominance in space exploration and tech
5	International Space Agencies	Multiple countries entering the space race beyond the US-USSR rivalry
6	Lunar Mining With Turf Wars	Conflict over mining resources on the Moon and control of assets
7	Alternate Dystopian Time-Leap	A dark future timeline where space decisions lead to dystopia
8	Cold War Spy Thriller	Espionage in America during the space race tied to Star City events
9	Space Hotels Satire	Luxury space tourism mixed with political satire and class conflict
10	Children of Apollo Pilots	A generational family drama centered on the descendants of Apollo astronauts

What spin-off idea do you love? Let us know in the comments.

For All Mankind and Star City are streaming on Apple TV.