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 That's the premise of "For All Mankind," one of the first
original television series from Apple Inc. It sets the stage for
an alternate history with sweeping ripple effects on everything
from women's rights and the environment to the Vietnam War.
"The competition with the Soviet Union moves out into space, the
United States gets out of Vietnam early to commit more resources
to the space program," said executive producer Ronald D. Moore,
who also created the series.
"Society shifts, and along the way politics and history shift to
take the U.S. and the world on a more positive and optimistic
path," he added.
"For All Mankind," which launches on the Apple TV+ streaming
service on Friday, envisages a world where women, including
black women, become astronauts and engines of social change
decades before they did in real life, the Soviet Union never
invades Afghanistan, and billions more dollars are poured into
technology.
"Research into solar technology and battery technology starts to
move clean energy forwards decades before it was a real thing in
the United States. The fossil fuel industry starts to collapse
so climate change is less of a pressing issue," Moore said.
Apple is launching Apple TV+ in more than 100 markets for an
initial $5 a month with eight original shows, including "The
Morning Show," a behind-the-scenes television drama, and sci-fi
series "See." Its initial catalog is dwarfed by Netflix Inc,
Amazon Studios and Walt Disney Co's Disney+ streaming service,
which launches on Nov. 15.
Moore is known for his work on sci-fi series like "Battlestar
Galactica" and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" but said "For All
Mankind" could not be more different.
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"There are no aliens coming down, we aren't going to have a time
vortex and all that kind of stuff ... This show has a very
optimistic outlook," he said.
The 10-episode drama series is as ambitious as it is global, with a
diverse cast and also a strong immigration storyline featuring a
Mexican girl and her father. They cross the U.S. border and both
become part of NASA.
"We become a valuable part of society as immigrants instead of just
being a nuisance or taking someone else's jobs. In this show, we are
trying to give an optimistic message in terms of immigrants not
being treated as second-class citizens," said Arturo del Puerto, who
plays the Mexican dad Octavio Rosales.
Apple and the producers declined to give production costs but Moore
called it a high-budget show and said Apple had been "generous with
its resources."
Meticulous attention was paid to recreating NASA's Mission Control
room in the late 1960s from the original architect's plans, while a
team of space historians and former astronauts and administrators
acted as consultants to the writers, actors and set builders.
"This is a science fiction idea, an alternate history, but other
than that everything else in the show is played in a very real key,"
said Moore.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Tom Brown)
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