For All Mankind spoilers follow.
For All Mankind imagines an alternate history where Russia beat America to the moon. Thankfully, we don't have to imagine a world where For All Mankind stopped with season three, because Apple TV+ already confirmed the show would be returning before this latest season had even come to an end.
The renewal was announced at San Diego Comic-Con at the end of July 2022. Thanks to this early confirmation, new episodes will hopefully be rocketing our way a bit quicker than usual.
But what will happen exactly? Season three moved us through the '90s with a new goal, Mars, so what lies ahead in the 21st century?
Suit up and join us here at Digital Spy as we reveal everything you need to know about For All Mankind season four on Apple TV+.
For All Mankind season 4 potential release date: When will it air?
When Apple TV+ announced the For All Mankind season four renewal at San Diego Comic-Con, it also revealed that production was scheduled to start in August 2022.
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In January 2023, Krys Marshall (who plays Danielle) revealed on Instagram that she had wrapped for season four, teasing in the caption: "I was given scenes that scared the bejesus out of me, a workload unlike I'd ever carried before and asked to go deeper than I thought I could."
Subsequent reports suggest the show has now finished filming and is in post-production, so assuming that everything is on track, we could see new episodes launch by the end of this year.
As always, we promise to update you as soon as we know more.
For All Mankind season 4 cast: Who will be in it?
As with any show that jumps forward across multiple time periods, the cast of For All Mankind changes quicker than most.
But with that being said, we can probably assume that most of the following will return again in season four:
• Joel Kinnaman as Edward "Ed" Baldwin
• Jodi Balfour as Ellen Wilson
• Wrenn Schmidt as Margo Madison
• Krys Marshall as Danielle Poole
• Cynthy Wu as Kelly Baldwin
• Casey W Johnson as Danny Stevens
• Coral Peña as Aleida Rosales
• Edi Gathegi as Dev Ayesa
It's also likely that CS Lee will return as North Korean astronaut Lee Jung-gil following episode nine's shocking twist, and the finale fallout that followed.
Given her prominent storyline as the United States' first female and first gay President, we assume that Jodi Balfour will return as Ellen Wilson. However, this role might be reduced slightly as she starred in the third season of Ted Lasso, which didn't finish filming until November 2022.
Realistically, Ellen might not be President ten years later anyway, presuming that in the For All Mankind universe, sitting US presidents are also limited to two four-year terms.
Following the horrific tragedy that takes place at the end of season three, two cast members who likely won't return are Sonya Walger (Molly Cobb), and Shantel VanSanten (Karen Baldwin). Flashbacks aren't a regular occurrence on this show, but we wouldn't rule them out returning briefly along these lines, or perhaps even in memorial pictures and footage.
However, when it comes to adding to the roster, For All Mankind will see iconic Home Alone star Daniel Stern join the team. Famously known as Marv (aka one half of the Wet Bandits) from the Christmas classic, Stern will be taking on the role of Eli Hobson.
Hobson is a former auto industry CEO who has been hired as the new administrator at NASA and is tasked with bringing the agency into the 21st century. A challenge which will prove to be much more complicated than first expected.
Stern will become a series regular, hopefully making up for some of the losses fans may encounter in season four.
Fantastic Four star Toby Kebbell has also joined the cast and will play Miles, who has been described as a "former offshore oil platform worker who pursues a new job opportunity on Mars".
Other new cast members include Tyner Rushing (Under the Banner of Heaven), who will be playing a space worker on the Mars colony named Samatha, and Svetlana Efremova (Spinning Out), who will play a high-ranking Soviet official named Irina Morozova.
For All Mankind season 4 plot: What will happen?
As fans have come to expect by now, For All Mankind's season-three finale brought all the drama and then some.
While Ellen dealt with the fallout of her coming out speech, there was drama around Mars with the arrival of Lee Jung-gil, Kelly's pregnancy issues and Danny's long-awaited confession.
But against all odds, Ed managed to save his daughter Kelly — along with "Lil' Ed", his future grandchild. It was a deeply moving moment of grandeur that contrasted dramatically with the way season two ended.
That doesn't mean the finale was free of tragedy, though.
In a shocking twist, major characters ended up dying on Earth when a bomb took out half of the Johnson Space Centre, which was historically the only place where characters were guaranteed to be safe. Hundreds died in the explosion, including two of the show's biggest characters who have been with us since day one.
While no specific season-four storyline details have been revealed yet, expect this trauma to impact the show moving forward now that we've jumped from 1995 to 2003.
And it sounds like season four will be one giant leap for mankind. Well, at least according to Joel Kinnaman, who told The Ringer: "I'm reading the script for season four and the ideas for season four and also for season five are incredible. Hopefully we'll keep this train moving, and there's going to be some real fireworks ahead."
As for where Joel's character Ed will be emotionally in the new season, it sounds like he'll have some real Doctor Manhattan vibes.
"Just absolute inner turmoil, dealing with life and death in the most profound way and most direct way, losing his life partner and then at the same time having his first grandchild," said Kinnaman. "I know where it goes, but I think the overall sense for Ed is that he has less and less connection to Earth."
But what does this jump mean for Margot? Why is she now in what looks like Russia? Will Ellen still be with her one true love as President? And will Ed continue to rock that muscular physique now he's another eight years older?
The answers to all this and more lie in the stars — i.e., For All Mankind season four.
"The thing that I think is really interesting about season four, which we tease at the end of season three, is this other new world we're opening up, which is looking behind the Iron Curtain and following Margo," showrunner Matt Wolpert said (via The Playlist).
"And I think that expansion of our world is going to be really interesting to play around with. It’s always been an element of the show, but Russians have really been coming into the American sphere, you know? It's really been in the setting of America. And so, opening the show up to that other dimension I think is really going to be compelling."
For All Mankind season 4 trailer: When can we see it?
New footage of For All Mankind isn't available just yet, but we have our best minds on the case, so keep checking back here to see trailers for season four when they (hopefully) arrive this year.
For All Mankind is now streaming on Apple TV+.
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After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
