On May 29, 2026, Apple TV will launch one of its most ambitious projects to date: Star City, a spin-off from the acclaimed alternate-history space drama For All Mankind. But this time, the story unfolds behind the Iron Curtain, offering viewers a rare look at the Soviet side of the moon race. In the days leading up to its premiere, the cast and creators gathered in London for an exclusive screening and a candid discussion about what makes this series tick—and why it’s unlike anything else on television this year.
At the heart of Star City is Anna Maxwell Martin, who plays Lyudmilla Raskova, the formidable head of KGB surveillance in the fictionalized Star City. Speaking after the London screening on May 24, Martin was quick to challenge first impressions of her character. "She is a sort of product of this system that she’s in, so she seems like a baddie, but she isn’t," she explained, according to Mogaz. "She was just doing her job." For Martin, Lyudmilla’s dedication to the Soviet Union and communism is not villainy, but a reflection of the era’s realities: "Yes, she’s doing her job very well."
This nuanced portrayal is at the core of what makes Star City so compelling. The series imagines a world where the Soviets beat the Americans to the moon, but it’s not just a story of technological triumph. Instead, as co-creator Matt Wolpert told the audience, the show delves into the machinery of control and secrecy that defined the Soviet space program. Wolpert and fellow creator Ben Nedivi shared that many events depicted in the episodes are based on real historical occurrences, with Nedivi describing their fascination with the idea of "a city in the middle of the woods in the middle of nowhere, with no street signs, it’s not on the map." That shadowy, hidden world became the team’s obsession—and the show’s haunting backdrop.
The ensemble cast is another of the show’s strengths, with Rhys Ifans playing the unnamed Chief Designer, Agnes O’Casey as Irina, and Alice Englert as cosmonaut Anastasia. O’Casey described Irina as a joy to play, noting that viewers meet her at a "completely different stage in her life," setting up a charged dynamic between Irina and Lyudmilla from the outset. Englert, meanwhile, likened the series to a root system, "with oppression as the cement and the people pushing through anyway." Ifans was drawn to the chance to explore "how someone survives oppression while trying to keep a sense of moral fibre and humanity."
All these elements come together under the direction of Nick Murphy, who helmed the first few episodes. The result is a show that’s as much about the cost of living inside an oppressive machine as it is about rockets and lunar landings. As El Balad reported, Star City uses its alternate history premise to ask tough questions: How do people retain their humanity inside a system built to suppress it? What does loyalty look like when obedience can mean cruelty, and when survival often demands moral compromise?
Martin’s approach to her role was shaped by a desire for authenticity—both in character and appearance. In an interview with The Times on May 24, she revealed her delight at the show’s no make-up policy, designed to reflect the scarcity and social attitudes toward cosmetics in 1970s Soviet Russia. "I absolutely loved it," she said. "It’s less time in the make-up chair—that’s my dream role, to just get on with it." This practical approach is typical of Martin, who’s known for her versatility and for playing roles that demand both toughness and vulnerability.
Her preparation for Lyudmilla also involved a crash course in Russian history. Despite her own background in history at Liverpool University, Martin admitted she knew little about the era. "I didn’t know how Lyudmilla could have been a tank commander in the Second World War—they call it the Great Patriotic War in Russia—so I phoned a friend, the historian Ben Macintyre, because he knows everything, and said, talk to me about tank commanders during the Second World War!" she recounted with a laugh.
Off-screen, Martin’s life is as full as her on-screen roles. She spoke candidly about balancing her career with motherhood, often commuting from the set in Lithuania to see her teenage daughters in London. "Being a mum is my priority and so a lot of choosing parts comes down to how it balances with that side of my life," she told The Times. The loss of her former partner, director Roger Michell, in 2021, and her experiences navigating grief and single parenthood, have shaped her outlook. "Grief is grief, isn’t it? Hard and horrible? Exactly. I’ve just got to navigate it, parenting, earning a living, doing life, helping the girls thrive as best I can. That’s the focus."
Martin’s activism is another facet of her public life. She campaigns for changes in how schools treat children with special educational needs, advocating against punitive fines for school absences and for better support for adopted children. "We’ve got to stop criminalising non-attendance at school, it doesn’t get us anywhere," she argued. Her commitment to these issues is personal, shaped by her daughters’ experiences and her own journey through loss and resilience.
As Good Housekeeping noted in its roundup of the week’s must-see television, Star City stands out not only for its gripping premise and star-studded cast, but for its willingness to explore "the risks they took to propel humankind forward." With its focus on the lives of cosmonauts, engineers, and intelligence officers, the series promises to deliver both suspense and substance. It’s a rare chance to see the moon race from the other side—and to consider what it means to serve, survive, and sometimes defy the system around you.
For Anna Maxwell Martin, the role of Lyudmilla is another opportunity to inhabit a complex, powerful woman navigating a world where the stakes are nothing less than life, death, and the fate of a nation’s dreams. As Star City prepares for its debut, viewers can expect not only a thrilling ride through an alternate past, but a thoughtful meditation on power, loyalty, and the enduring human spirit.