“For All Mankind” captured the attention and imagination of viewers when it premiered three years ago. It is an alternate-reality story that weaves real people and events from the past with an alternate history. The series began with a rewriting of one of the most iconic moments of the 1960s — with the Soviet Union becoming the first country to put a man on the moon.

From there, the people we have read about and seen from the past 60-plus years are headed for a different scenario, different lives, deaths and a whole new world.

The second season ended with the colonization of the moon. Season three focuses on the race to Mars. And it does turn into an actual race. But a new player enters the field – a company called Helios. This company is akin to Space X, adding another space exploration enterprise to the mix. Now, not only are countries competing to be the first on Mars, but Helios is hot on their tail. Or are the USA and USSR on the tail of Helios?

The characters each deal with demons from their past, and while loyalty to country is at the top of their agendas, some come upon a dilemma that pits their supposed good intentions against their country’s best interest. Without adding spoiler alerts to this, let’s just say there is some scheming and conniving in the background.

So who is going to head up NASA’s rocket to Mars? Will it be Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman), Danielle Poole (Krys Marshall), or someone new? As the the race to Mars unveils, the relationships between the characters get more and more twisted. Families, affairs, science, traitors and more combine to make season three an interesting and fascinating 10 episodes.

Combining real people with alternate scenarios is what makes the series engrossing. We have read or seen the advancement of NASA and the dismantling of the USSR, but creating alternate stories for them brings viewers back. What would have happened if something from history had not happened the way it did? That is the premise of this show. What if…?

“For All Mankind” season three began streaming on Friday on Apple TV+.

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