Apple TV's 2026 Sci-Fi Spinoff Needed Just 8 Episodes To Earn Masterpiece Status

Published Jul 26, 2026, 10:45 PM EDT Dhruv is a Lead Writer in Screen Rant's New TV division. He has been consistently contributing to the website for over two years and has written thousands of articles covering streaming trends, movie/TV analysis, and pop culture breakdowns. Before Screen Rant, he was a Senior Writer for The Cinemaholic, covering everything from anime to television, from reality TV to movies. After high school, he was on his way to become a Civil Engineer. However, he soon realized that writing was his true calling. As a result, he took a leap and never looked back. Sign in to your ScreenRant account While most shows take multiple seasons to find their feet and reveal their true potential, Apple TV's new spin-off sci-fi show has earned "masterpiece status" with only eight episodes. The show in question, Star City, premiered to almost unanimous acclaim, with both viewers and critics appreciating how brilliantly it expands its parent show. Apple TV's Star City currently has a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 97%. This is an incredible feat, especially because its parent show, For All Mankind, landed a 75% score when it first premiered on Apple TV. It took the parent show two seasons to reveal its true potential and rise in the ranks to become one of Apple TV's best offerings in the sci-fi genre. Given how Star City season 2 has not officially been confirmed on Apple TV yet, the spin-off's future remains uncertain. However, its early critical reception alone could contribute to its return. Even if Star City season 2 does not get to see the light of day, though, the spin-off show has established itself as a brilliant extension of the For All Mankind franchise. Star City Keeps Up Apple TV's Tradition Of Excellent Sci-Fi Shows Just when it looks like Apple TV's sci-fi roster has peaked, the streaming service sets an even higher bar with new additions to the genre. In 2026, so far, Star City has been one of the most promising additions to Apple TV's sci-fi catalog. Other shows like Sugar season 2 and Silo season 3 have also managed to leave their marks by earning immense acclaim from viewers and critics. However, Star City's critical success, in particular, is incredibly impressive because spin-off extensions of well-established sci-fi franchises are rarely as good as their parent shows. Since Apple TV is still focusing more on expanding its sci-fi lineup by releasing more original shows, not a lot of sci-fi franchises on the streaming service have extended their runs with spin-offs. With Star City, however, Apple TV has proven that, as risky as spin-offs may seem, they can be just as compelling as the original series when they meaningfully expand an established universe. If Star City's commercial numbers prove to be as spectacular as its critical acclaim, it could not only pave the way for a follow-up season but also encourage Apple TV to green-light more promising spin-offs for other franchises in the near future. Star City Does What Most Sci-Fi Spinoffs Fail To Image courtesy of Apple TV More often than not, spin-offs end up diluting the existing story beats of a franchise. They pick on popular characters from their parent series and attempt to stretch their story across multiple episodes and seasons. Star City completely avoids this problem by expanding laterally. It adopts the same setting as its parent series, but flips its original perspective. Instead of focusing on American optimism and institutional ambition like For All Mankind, Star City functions more as a tense Cold War psychological thriller. It harkens back to the same alternate historical event surrounding the 1969 Soviet moon landing. However, it presents it through a more paranoid and high-stakes lens that effectively switches the franchise's entire genre. For All Mankind has been renewed for season 6, which is expected to premiere on Apple TV in 2027. This ensures that while Star City's narrative foundation is the same as its parent show, its story develops a distinct identity and tone that is purely driven by KGB surveillance, institutional fear, and secret political compromises. All in all, Apple TV's Star City proves that it deserves to exist as a spin-off, unlike most other forced franchise extensions. Star City Release Date May 28, 2026 Star City is a new Apple TV series set in the For All Mankind universe, exploring the global space race from the perspective of the Soviet Union. Network Apple TV Cast Rhys Ifans, Anna Maxwell Martin, Agnes O'Casey, Alice Englert, Solly McLeod, Adam Nagaitis, Ruby Ashbourne Serkis, Josef Davies, Niamh Algar, David Dencik, Eliot Salt, Ellie Piercy, Jenny Walser, Sam Strike, Christopher Sherwood, Gyuri Sarossy, Robin Berry, Ian Drysdale, Chris Leaney, Samuelis Sauchatas, Jake Lampert, Sam Wilkinson, Grant Masters, Tim Bentinck, Neringa Bulotaitė Showrunner Ben Nedivi, Matt Wolpert Directors Jamie Payne, Kasia Adamik, Stefan Schwartz Writers Megan McDonnell Main Genre Sci-Fi Creator(s) Ben Nedivi, Matt Wolpert, Ronald D. Moore Executive Producer(s) Andrew Chambliss, Ben Nedivi, Bradley Thompson, David Weddle, Kira Snyder, Maril Davis, Matt Wolpert, Ronald D. Moore, Steve Oster Producers Ben Nedivi, Bradley Thompson, David Weddle, Maril Davis, Matt Wolpert, Ronald D. Moore, Seth Edelstein, Andrew Chambliss, Kira Snyder, Gursimran Sandhu, Huey M. Park, Steve Oster Seasons 1 Streaming Service(s) AppleTV+