Apple TV’s New 8-Part Sci-Fi Series Proves A TV Curse Is Officially Dead

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Apple TV+ has another well-received sci-fi series, adding to a growing list of critically acclaimed shows in the genre. But this new series is a spinoff, which raises an interesting point about television tradition. Historically, spinoffs have been hit or miss – often leaning more towards failure. While some, like Frasier (spun off from Cheers), have been successful, many others – such as Joey, AfterMASH, The Golden Palace, and That ‘80s Show – haven’t lived up to the quality of the original series.

Spinoffs generally aren’t considered as exciting or innovative as brand new TV shows. This has been true even beyond comedies, and we’ve seen it recently with Netflix’s Stranger Things. While the original series was a huge hit, its animated spinoff, Tales from ’85, didn’t receive nearly as much positive attention when it first came out.

The recent performance of shows created by the Duffer Brothers, the creators of Stranger Things, highlights how difficult it is for spinoffs to succeed. While their new Netflix shows, Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen and The Boroughs, received better reviews than the Stranger Things spinoff Tales from ’85, the show Star City, a spinoff of Apple TV+’s For All Mankind, is a notable exception. Star City has proven to be as good as, or even better than, the original series, suggesting that spinoffs aren’t always destined to fail.

Are We Now Living In An Age Of Great Spinoffs?

Rhys Ifans stars as Sergei Korolev, the lead designer behind the Soviet space program, in Star City. The show is set at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, and follows the lives of those who work there. Anna Maxwell Martin plays the head of the KGB surveillance team at Star City, while Agnes O’Casey joins the cast as new recruit Irina Morozova. Solly McLeod plays Sasha Polivanov, a cosmonaut known for challenging authority.

Similar to how For All Mankind imagines an alternate American history where the Soviets won the space race, Star City delves into what Soviet history might have looked like in that same fictional world. Critics have lauded the show as a gripping and original story, showcasing the detailed world-building that’s become more popular on television in recent years – a level of complexity once rarely seen on the small screen.

Because people are now watching entire seasons of TV at once thanks to streaming, writers don’t need to make each episode self-contained. This, along with the current trend of shows telling one big story over an entire season, has allowed for a surge in science fiction shows that can build really detailed and complicated worlds without losing the audience.

Epic science fiction shows are popping up on all the major streaming services – from Apple TV+’s Foundation and Silo to Netflix’s 3 Body Problem and Altered Carbon. This trend towards more intricate stories is also leading to fantastic spinoff series, like HBO’s Dune: Prophecy, which aren’t afraid to explore the rich details of their worlds.

Past spinoff shows often struggled because they tried too hard to attract both new viewers and longtime fans. This usually meant rehashing familiar storylines for existing fans while simultaneously confusing those unfamiliar with the original series. However, with the rise of binge-watching, shows can now be more complex and ambitious. This allows spinoffs like Star City, a follow-up to For All Mankind, to build intricate worlds without oversimplifying things or talking down to the audience.

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2026-06-06 22:37