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When it comes to modern space opera TV shows, few series are as respected or celebrated as The Expanse and the 2000s reboot of Battlestar Galactica. Both dragged the genre into the 21st century and proved that spacefaring sci-fi could go hand in hand with serious drama. Battlestar Galactica worked then-contemporary societal fears into a space opera narrative, while The Expanse brought a grounded prestige TV vision of humanity's future, the likes of which viewers had never seen.
Many grand space-opera series have arrived in the years since each of them concluded, but none feel like they quite match either Battlestar Galactica or The Expanse. However, there is a gem waiting to be discovered on Apple TV+, For All Mankind, which has picked up the torch in its own distinctive way. By combining a fast-paced timeline with tense character-focused drama, For All Mankind gradually transforms its alternate-history premise into a space opera that captures what made both The Expanse and Battlestar Galactica so enduring.
Created by Ronald D. Moore, Ben Nedivi, and Matt Wolpert, For All Mankind currently has 5 seasons, with a 6th and final season on the way and a spinoff, Star City, which arrived in 2026. Boasting a 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the series imagines a world where the Soviet Union reaches the Moon first, and humanity's push into space gains serious momentum because of it. For space opera fans who feel the void left by Battlestar Galactica and The Expanse hasn't been filled, For All Mankind is the answer.
The Maker Of Battlestar Galactica Co-Created For All Mankind
The similarities between Battlestar Galactica's phenomenal 2004 remake and For All Mankind are baked directly into the latter's creative DNA. Ronald D. Moore, who developed the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, co-created For All Mankind alongside Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert. The same writer-producer responsible for one of television's most acclaimed space operas helped shape the alternate-history series from its foundation, and it's easy to spot Moore’s influence in both.
With both Battlestar Galactica and For All Mankind, Ronald D. Moore isn’t interested in presenting space as a simple frontier where heroic astronauts complete missions and return home. Instead, both shows use spacefaring sci-fi to explore political instability and the difficult choices made by people who leave Earth for a life among the stars. The human cost of progress is central, with no advancements in Battlestar or For All Mankind coming without consequence.
The main significant difference, outside the existence of Cylons in Battlestar Galactica, is that For All Mankind begins with a more grounded premise. Rather than humanity fighting for survival after a devastating attack, the series asks what might have happened if the Space Race had continued to escalate. Yet the further it progresses, the more the show becomes a space opera that works present-day themes into a futuristic setting just as Moore once did in Battlestar Galactica.
For All Mankind Could Be A Prequel To The Expanse
While For All Mankind doesn't share a creator with The Expanse, its similarities to the hit Prime Video space opera are just as crystal clear as its overlap with Battlestar Galactica. In fact, the two shows have often been pointed out as having enough thematic and technological similarities that For All Mankind can almost function as a viable prequel to The Expanse's galaxy-spanning future. Both shows present their sci-fi with meticulous attention to realism, so the spiritual kinship they share feels almost uncanny.
The most obvious connection is the relationship between Earth and Mars. In The Expanse, the two worlds have developed into major political powers with fundamentally different identities and interests. Mars has become an independent society built around military discipline and technological ambition, while Earth remains the dominant center of humanity's population. As its alternate history advanced, For All Mankind explores a similar divide. What starts as competition between the United States and the Soviet Union eventually develops into a much broader struggle over the future of humanity beyond Earth.
For All Mankind feels like it’s almost charting the process that could lead to the future seen in The Expanse. Of course, For All Mankind is not officially a prequel, but the conceptual connection is unusually strong. The Expanse examined what happens when humanity spreads across the stars. For All Mankind lays the foundations for those ideas by showing how this journey into space could begin, and how quickly political conflict could follow.
