After an extended wait, fans of can finally breathe easy—Season 5 is on its way, and it’s arriving very soon. Apple TV has just announced the release date, new cast members, and dropped a short teaser trailer for the alternate history sci-fi epic. Now that the timeline has reached 2012 (or possibly a bit later), this may be the last season of For All Mankind featuring cast members from Season 1, which clearly signals it’s time for the next generation to take center stage.
Ahead of For All Mankind Season 5, here’s everything we know so far: the trailer, release date, new and returning cast, fresh photos, and plot details. No spoilers ahead for Season 5. Mild spoilers ahead for Seasons 1-4.
For All Mankind Season 5 Release Date
Following the Season 4 finale in January 2024, For All Mankind returns for Season 5 on March 27, 2026. Like previous seasons, there will be 10 episodes total, with the Season 5 finale airing on May 29.
For All Mankind Season 5 Timeline and Plot
Season 4 took place mostly in 2003, which in the FaMK timeline meant Mars had a well-established base—this became the season’s central plotline, ending with Mars residents seizing the massive, valuable Goldilocks asteroid for themselves. As is the show’s tradition, [missing text] shows an even larger Mars base plus Kuznetsov Station, a refinery on the asteroid now in permanent orbit around Mars.
So, as Season 5 enters the 2010s, the plot will expand on tensions between Earth and Mars, and may even venture further into the solar system. Here’s the official plot synopsis from Apple:
Season five of For All Mankind picks up in the years since the Goldilocks asteroid heist. Happy Valley has grown into a thriving colony with thousands of residents and a base for new missions that will take us even further into the solar system. But with the nations of Earth now demanding law and order on the Red Planet, friction continues to build between the people who live on Mars and their former home.
For All Mankind Season 5 Cast
Because For All Mankind began in an alternate 1969, it’s always been a multi-generational show—like One Hundred Years of Solitude, but with an alternate space race. This means cast members have come and gone, sometimes due to tragedy, but more often because time passes and people age. That said, Season5 will feature at least two cast members from Season1: as Ed Baldwin and as Margo Madison. Ed will likely be in his 80s or 90s now, while Margo will be in her70s.
Apple’s initial cast announcement didn’t mention as Danielle Poole, who survived Season4 and would be in her late60s or early70s this season. But like , Danielle’s story is arguably well-concluded at the end of Season4. Could she still appear in a big cameo? Anything is possible right now.
The biggest development, though, besides returning cast from Seasons2,3, and4, is a bunch of new faces. This makes sense—slowly, the show has been shifting from one generation to the next. Case in point: was a literal child in Season1, and by Season4, she’s NASA’s flight director. Ditto Ed and Karen’s daughter Kelly Baldwin (Cynthy Wu), who had the first pregnancy on Mars in Season3 and by Season4 brings her young son to work there. Is he all grown up in Season5? It looks like it! Here’s the confirmed cast for For All Mankind Season5.
- Joel Kinnaman as Ed Baldwin
- Wrenn Schmidt as Margo Madison
- Toby Kebbell as Miles Dale
- Edi Gathegi as Dev Ayesa
- Cynthy Wu as Kelly Baldiwn
- Coral Peña as Aleida Rosales
And new cast members:
- Mireille Enos
- Costa Ronin
- Ines Asserson
- Ruby Cruz
- Sean Kaufman
These new cast members’ characters’ names haven’t been confirmed, but the Season5 teaser strongly suggests Kaufman plays adult Alex, the son of Kelly and late cosmonaut Alexei Poletov.
For All Mankind Season5 Trailer
With a voiceover from Ed, the brief For All Mankind Season5 teaser shows an astronaut riding an awesome dirtbike on Mars. Ed’s narration says, “You’re gonna do things people can’t even fathom,” then we see Kaufman in a space helmet. This is almost certainly Alex, Ed’s grandson.
For All Mankind could go well beyond Season5, as creator Ronald D. Moore has often hinted at a seven-season plan. If that’s true, Alex might be the new face of the next generation—starting a group that takes mankind beyond the Moon and Mars to places no one has gone before.