Here’s everything to know about the For All Mankind season 3 renewal, including release date and story details. The alternative history series on Apple TV+ takes a look at what might have happened if the Soviet Union beat the United States to the moon in 1969 and the ripple effect that would follow, changing the world as we know it.

For All Mankind season 2 picks up in 1983, a decade after the events of season 1. The space race continues in season 2 as Washington, DC politics and the Department of Defense increasingly gain more control over operations at NASA, and the threat of nuclear war looms large. While some elements of the show remain historically accurate—Ronald Reagan is still president and the Soviets and Americans remain the leaders in space exploration—the season 2 storylines leap further into the alternate reality first introduced in season 1. It’s a trend that will continue in For All Mankind season 3.

In the season 2 finale of For All Mankind, most of the conflict gets resolved, as the show hints at what’s to come. The final moments of the season finale set up For All Mankind season 3 when an unidentified astronaut, or “cosmonaut,” steps foot on Mars in the year 1995. Series creator Ronald D. Moore and co-showrunners Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi have a grand vision, creating storylines through season 7. In an interview (via SYFY), the cast members and showrunners discussed what’s next for the show while the writers confirmed the series “will continue to move further away from real history as the story skips ahead a decade each season.” That said, here’s what to expect from For All Mankind season 3.

For All Mankind Season 3 Renewal

Apple TV+ confirmed For All Mankind season 3’s renewal back in December 2020, ahead of the series’ season 2 release date. Joel Kinnaman, Shantel VanSanten, and Krys Marshall have already been confirmed to return for season 3, with Sonya Walger, Wrenn Schmidt, and Jodi Balfour will also likely return among several others. However, Michael Dorman and Sarah Jones will probably not be involved in season 3 after their characters, Gordo and Tracy, died at the end of the Apple TV+ show.

For All Mankind Season 3 Release Date Info

Although an official release date hasn’t been announced, For All Mankind season 3 will likely happen sometime in early 2022 based on the previous season schedules. Season 1 was released in November 2019 and season 2 in February 2021. For all Mankind season 3 began filming in February 2021 and, with post-production and COVID restrictions in place, an early-mid 2022 release is certainly on track. However, since season 3 went into production, Ronald D. Moore left Sony for Disney. While Moore confirmed that he’ll remain involved with the series, Wolpert and Nedivi have taken over as the day-to-day showrunners for season 3. Due to the change, it’s unclear what For All Mankind season 3 will be like creatively and if anything will particularly change.

For All Mankind Season 3 Story Details & Time Jump

In For All Mankind‘s alternate history timeline, Ellen begins advocating for a Mars mission early on in season 2, so the writers were hinting at the direction the show would be moving towards. While For All Mankind season 3 will likely center on Mars, it looks like the missions will be quite different from the real-life Mars explorations of the ‘90s. In 1995, NASA announced the Mars Surveyor program, but these missions involved observer probes in studying the planet remotely as the program began looking for less expensive ways to explore space.

For All Mankind’s time jump to the ‘90s also raises the question as to whether Kelly, Aleida, and Danny might become more central characters in For All Mankind season 3, as they will be ten years older and could all potentially be working for NASA at that point, meaning another For All Mankind time jump is in store. If so, it will be interesting to see how the show will choose to transform the young characters in order to age them a whole decade when in reality, only a year will have passed between filming.

In an interview (via Collider), Kinnaman teased that For All Mankind would be in more solid sci-fi territory in season 3; the actor also hinted the show’s third outing was the best yet. There are many other questions and character storylines to pick up in For All Mankind season 3. Like what will happen with Margo and Sergei–will Margo end up working for the Soviets? Will Ed and Karen get divorced? Will Molly lose her sight? On top of all of the new story elements that the Mars plotline is sure to include, these season 2 plotlines will also likely be addressed in For All Mankindseason 3.

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