'For All Mankind' Season 3 Ordered By Apple TV+ Ahead Of Season 2 Premiere

Apple TV+ has gone ahead and ordered For All Mankind season 3 ahead of the premiere of season 2. The series follows an alternate history where the space race never ended, and the USSR beat the United States to the moon. Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman, Sarah Jones, Shantel VanSanten, Wrenn Schmidt, Jodi Balfour, Krys Marshall, and Sonya Walger star. Season 2 will premiere in February 2021.

Even before For All Mankind season 2 arrives on February 19, 2021, fans can take comfort in knowing the mission will go on for at least another season. Apple TV+ has ordered a third season of the series from Ronald D. Moore – a series that "explores what would have happened if the global space race had never ended. The series presents an aspirational world where NASA astronauts, engineers, and their families find themselves in the center of extraordinary events seen through the prism of an alternate history timeline — a world in which the USSR beats the US to the moon."

While it's too early to know what's going to happen in season 3, the upcoming second season "picks up a decade later in 1983. It's the height of the Cold War and tensions between the United States and the USSR are at their peak. Ronald Reagan is President and the greater ambitions of science and space exploration are at threat of being squandered as the US and Soviets go head to head to control sites rich in resources on the moon. The Department of Defense has moved into Mission Control, and the militarization of NASA becomes central to several characters' stories: some fight it, some use it as an opportunity to advance their own interests, and some find themselves at the height of a conflict that may lead to nuclear war."

Since season 2 jumps forward a decade perhaps season 3 will do the same and take us into the 1990s. The "season that spans a decade" approach is also how Netflix's The Crown unfolds. Which raises a question: will the same cast continue into season 3? Or will they be replaced by older actors? For now, season 1 cast members Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman, Sarah Jones, Shantel VanSanten, Wrenn Schmidt, Jodi Balfour, Krys Marshall, and Sonya Walger are all back for season 2, joined by newcomers Cynthy Wu as Kelly, as an astronaut's daughter; Coral Peña as adult Aleida Rosales, who was introduced in season 1; and Casey W. Johnson as Danny Stevens,  son of astronauts Gordo (Dorman) and Tracy (Jones). For All Mankind was created by Ronald D. Moore, Ben Nedivi & Matt Wolpert. Moore, Nedivi, and Wolpert executive produce alongside Maril Davis of Tall Ship Productions.

Apple TV+ hasn't exactly been setting the world on fire as far as buzz goes, but they also appear to be building themselves a sturdy little library. They renewed both Dickinson and The Morning Show right away, and they also recently renewed Ted Lasso, a show everyone keeps telling me is great (I'll get around to watching it at some point).