With For All Mankind season 5 now over, and only one more run of episodes left to arrive before the show ends for good, you're probably looking for your next sci-fi binge. Luckily, there are plenty of shows that capture the same general spirit as For All Mankind, even if only a few of them match the vibe exactly. Checking these out won't just make the wait for season 6 easier, but you might just find yourself becoming part of another passionate fandom.
That being said, it's almost impossible to find a direct For All Mankind replacement. I've never watched a show with such a groundbreaking premise. This isn't to say that its constituent elements can't also be found woven through the DNA of other sci-fis and space operas; it's just tricky to find ones that combine them in the same way as For All Mankind. But that's a good thing, right? With so much on TV right now, it's good to make use of the diversity on display while also dipping into some legacy shows that might have passed you by.
- Star City
- The Expanse
- Star Trek: Enterprise
- Foundation
- Battlestar Galactica (2003)
- Altered Carbon
- 3 Body Problem
- Andor
Star City
Streaming on: Apple TV
The very day that For All Mankind season 5 ended, the Apple TV show also became a franchise. The exciting new Star City spin-off heads back to the beginning of the saga's timeline.
This time around, it focuses on the Soviet Union in the aftermath of their victory over the Americans in the 1969 race to the Moon. It introduces younger versions of established characters while also bringing in new faces and recontextualizing certain storylines from a new perspective. It's probably the most direct replacement to fill the For All Mankind-shaped void in your life, but don't expect it to have the same feel. There are two sides to every story.
The Expanse
Streaming on: Prime Video
For All Mankind and The Expanse have no canonical connections, but good luck convincing fans of both shows that this is the case. For All Mankind is built to very much feel like a sort of general prequel to a whole bunch of other space operas. It has a very measured approach to laying the groundwork for how humanity reaches the stars, and doesn't shy away from the political fallout of all that progress.
Because The Expanse is set a few hundred years into the future, but still has that tense rivalry between Earth and Mars, it's tough to deny the other parallels that arise. Again, The Expanse is not a sequel to For All Mankind, and it's very important to remember that if you check it out. Otherwise, it would be easy to get confused and just accept them as one big story set centuries apart. That said, The Expanse is simply fantastic as a self-contained, five-season story.
Star Trek: Enterprise
Streaming on: Paramount+
Set in the 22nd century, Enterprise occupies the earliest point in the Star Trek timeline. Like the rest of the franchise, it makes use of almost every sci-fi trope in the book. Faster-than-light propulsion, a rich array of alien life, time travel, the works. In that way, it differs from For All Mankind quite significantly. On the other hand, the two shows aren't without their similarities.
Over four seasons, Enterprise follows Earth's first ship that's capable of deep space exploration. It allows Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) and his crew to travel further and further from their homeworld. For All Mankind does this too, just in a far less extreme manner. Aesthetically, I think there are also some strong parallels. The function-over-form vibe of Happy Valley in For All Mankind brings back strong memories of the interior of Captain Archer's ship.
Fun fact: Star Trek does exist within For All Mankind's timeline, but Enterprise does not. In the world of the Apple TV show, Star Trek ended after just The Original Series and two spin-offs.
Foundation
Streaming on: Apple TV
If you love big, glossy space operas made by Apple TV, then Foundation is definitely your thing. In fact, if the space opera elements were your favorite part of For All Mankind, then you might even prefer Foundation.
Set roughly 50,000 years in the future, the ambitious Isaac Asimov adaptation deals with a period of approaching chaos for humanity that cannot be avoided. But, via a series of complex calculations, it can be drastically shortened. It's tough to do the premise justice without writing an entire essay, but give Foundation a try and let its superlative quality win you over ahead of season 4.
Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Streaming on: Paramount+
I won't say exactly when Battlestar Galactica is set, as it could easily be interpreted as a spoiler for the broader premise. However, its strongest connection to For All Mankind is that Ronald D. Moore is one of the biggest figures involved in developing both projects.
His signature can be found all over both For All Mankind after being refined in his earlier works, like Battlestar Galactica. It has a different vibe from For All Mankind and uses different sci-fi tropes, but it's still great. It's also important to point out that I'm talking about the Battlestar Galactica reboot here, which ran from 2003 to 2009. The earlier runs aren't quite as good.
Altered Carbon
Streaming on: Netflix
If you haven't watched For All Mankind season 5 yet, then you might want to skip this one for the huge spoiler I'm about to drop. SPOILER INCOMING: The death of Joel Kinnaman's Ed Baldwin in the Apple TV show ended the actor's For All Mankind run, and one of the best arcs in sci-fi TV history. If you're like me and you're still not over Ed's passing and Kinnaman's exit from the cast, there's another sci-fi show you can let the actor blow you away in: Altered Carbon.
Granted, he's only in season 1, but he shines as Takeshi Kovacs in the slick cyberpunk detective arc. Altered Carbon takes place in a distant future where what it means to be human has been transformed. Memories are now backed up to devices called stacks, which can then be transferred to other bodies once an individual dies.
It's more mature than For All Mankind, but definitely worth a watch once the kids have gone to bed. Season 1 works as a standalone story, but Anthony Mackie is also very good in season 2.
3 Body Problem
Streaming on: Netflix
Although solidly within the sci-fi category, 3 Body Problem is probably the least like For All Mankind on this list. Still, I think fans of one would generally love the other. While For All Mankind treats space as something that's filled with wonder, 3 Body Problem offers an alternative point of view that makes the endless void come across as a terror-filled nothingness.
With a hostile alien force not set to arrive for hundreds of years, 3 Body Problem has a surprising sense of urgency to it that makes it a perfect binge-watch. Season 2 is set to drop in 2026.
Andor
Streaming on: Disney+
Recommending a Star Wars show might seem redundant, but I know that some fans didn't give it a fair shot because it felt so different from the rest of the franchise. Furthermore, For All Mankind is one of those rare sci-fi shows that feels so un-sci-fi at times that it draws in viewers who don't usually engage with the genre. As such, these For All Mankind fans might not necessarily be Star Wars fans, too.
For those missing For All Mankind and are looking for a story about a rebellion in space that doesn't shy away from politics, Andor fits the bill surprisingly well. Plus, despite the fact that Andor fits into a huge timeline, the two-season war epic works as a standalone story. That said, my advice would be not to avoid 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which functionally serves as Andor's feature-length finale after season 2. Phew, at least For All Mankind is easy to watch in order.
For All Mankind seasons 1–5 are streaming now on Apple TV. Season 6 is expected next year.
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