Editor’s note: The below interview contains spoilers for Star City Episode 5. Apple TV’s Star City has already defined itself as a completely different show from what For All Mankind fans might expect. Some characters might immediately be familiar to longtime viewers, like Sergei Nikulov (Josef Davies) and Irina Morozova (Agnes O’Casey), but there are also characters we’ve only had the briefest impression of, chief among them Anastasia Belikova (Alice Englert), who earns the distinction of becoming the first Russian woman to land on the Moon. Yet, as Star City quickly reveals, Anastasia’s ultimate purpose is to be a public-facing representative for the Soviet space program, rather than spend a lifetime exploring space. In addition to being forced into an arranged marriage with fellow cosmonaut Sasha Polivanov (Solly McLeod), Anastasia ultimately discovers that there are no plans for her to return to the stars again, let alone the Moon. Ahead of premiere, Collider had the opportunity to speak with Star City’s co-creators and cast about some of the series’ most pivotal moments, including the most unexpected turn in Anastasia and Sasha’s politically orchestrated relationship. Below, Englert and McLeod discuss the physical toll of filming the show’s zero-gravity sequences, the origins of Sasha’s secret affair with Tanya Mironova (Ruby Ashbourne Serkis), when they learned about where Anastasia and Sasha’s relationship would be heading, and more. COLLIDER: Alice, Anastasia’s spacewalk is probably one of the most tense moments of this series early on. How intensive was it for you just to film it? ALICE ENGLERT: Yeah, it was full on. That was probably the only time that me and the wonderful… I think it was Agnes, actually, the stunt double I had, who is such a freaking rock star, and the whole stunt team, the best dingle-danglers and gizmo handlers you’ve ever seen. We were very lucky. We were in the best hands. It is a lot of core, a lot of muscles you didn’t know were muscles, that must be activated. SOLLY MCLEOD: We were absolutely wrecked. ENGLERT: Going zero gravity is really something to be pretending is easy. But I’ve got to tell you, it was so fun because I have had a crush on space for a long time. I don’t care how much I’m sweating, I don’t care how hot it is, just getting to pretend that stuff was so exciting. A lot of what you see, like right up in the helmet, is awkwardly, actually, just me standing in a helmet with the whole crew just… MCLEOD: Gathered around. ENGLERT: Gathered about, yeah. [Laughs]
‘Star City’s Solly McLeod Reveals When Sasha and Tanya’s Affair First Started

“I justified it as it’s a way to cope with the stress and the oppression and everything…”

Two men in uniform talking in Star City.Image via Apple TV

Solly, viewers get a sense of Sasha’s relationships very early on, including this secret affair that he’s having with Tanya. Were there any conversations prior to filming with Matt [Wolpert] and Ben [Nedivi] and Ruby [Ashbourne Serkis] about the backstory of this relationship beyond what we learn in the show, like how long this has really been going on between them, and when it started? MCLEOD: We did. Me and Ruby spoke, and we spoke with Matt and Ben, and Nick Murphy, as well, and we came to the conclusion that it had been going on for a fair amount of time, maybe up to a year, maybe longer. But I justified it in my head, same with a lot of Sasha’s actions, as a way to cope with the pressure and the stress, and doing something that you know you shouldn’t be, and pushing the boundaries, and the threat. The excitement is like… ENGLERT: I forget how close Sasha is with Valya. MCLEOD: Yeah, well, he’s also my best mate. ENGLERT: I kind of liked [Sasha and Tanya] together. I’m always forgetting that. That is messed up. MCLEOD: It’s really fucked up. I justified it as it’s a way to cope with the stress and the oppression and everything, and just all of his actions in his morally questionable decisions that stem from insecurity. I would assume the same for Tanya, but I think Ruby would obviously have a better answer. Speaking of complicated relationships, Anastasia and Sasha have a really interesting turn this season. It is an arranged marriage for political, forward-facing reasons, but when did you both learn that was the direction the characters were going? ENGLERT: We learned about the arrangement relatively early on. MCLEOD: Before I started. I think when I auditioned, I had the first couple of episodes to read for some context. ENGLERT: I got them at some point in the process. I don’t remember. But I didn’t see it coming until I read it. MCLEOD: I feel like this thing with Sasha and Anastasia’s relationship, as it developed, you don’t see it coming until it’s there, and then you go, “Oh, shit!” But then you think back, and you go, “But it makes sense.” Who they are as people, it makes sense. They’re very similar. ENGLERT: Yeah, because I think they’re both pretending to be someone they’re not. Once they’re in that forced, close proximity, they realize they can’t really bullshit each other, and that starts to unravel their defense mechanisms. There’s a sort of trust that is also kind of forced upon them because they can’t lie to each other. They just see through each other too clearly, so they’re forced to act a certain way, but then they also are forced to be themselves. I think that’s where the strength of that connection comes from. They’re not a fantasy for each other. They’re a nightmare for each other. [Laughs] It’s, like, one of the oldest tricks in the book, and I did not see it coming.

Related

‘Star City’s Opening Credits Are Boldly Different From ‘For All Mankind’ for a Reason

Creators Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert, alongside star Rhys Ifans, break down the premiere of ‘For All Mankind’s first spin-off.

MCLEOD: You didn’t see it coming? ENGLERT: I didn’t see any of that coming! MCLEOD: I did a little bit. ENGLERT: I was way too busy with the moon. MCLEOD: Yeah, you were dreaming about the moon. ENGLERT: I was in love with the moon. MCLEOD: As Alice and Anastasia, dreaming about the moon. ENGLERT: Yeah, I was just all hotted up for the moon.
‘Star City’s Alice Englert and Solly McLeod Reveal Why This Unexpected Romance Is More “Tragic” Than You Think

“As soon as they find this potential…”

Solly McLeod in Star City Episode 5Image via Apple TV

In terms of what the forced proximity leads to in Episode 4, it feels like a moment that happens at the right time for both of them — given who they are, given that they’ve lowered that outer shell, that façade that they’re projecting to everyone else.

ENGLERT: I thought you were going to say “lowered their standards” for a second. [Laughs] MCLEOD: They’ve lowered their standards. ENGELRT: “Finally. No one else around,” which… I also kind of like that aspect, too. MCLEOD: I do. ENGLERT: It’s like they’re also the only people they see. There is a really striking moment of vulnerability in the morning after scene in Episode 5, between the characters, where it feels like there’s a potential moment for something more genuine, and then Anastasia pulls away. Alice, why do you think she withdraws at that moment when the opportunity is there for something more genuine? ENGLERT: I remember feeling it was so appropriate because there’s no part of her that knows how to be vulnerable in that way. Like, it was able to happen… That’s the thing, is they’re not so different. Maybe they seem more different because of the gendering of their personalities. There’s only so much people put up with from women, which we’re working on these days, but there is rascal energy strong within both of them. It’s actually a lot of love and recognition that I think they find in each other, and she doesn’t want to be rejected, and she knows what he’s like! MCLEOD: And he’s going away, maybe to death. It’s a very tragic situation. As soon as they find this potential… New episodes of Star City premiere Fridays on Apple TV.

Star City

Release Date

May 28, 2026

Network

Apple TV

Showrunner

Ben Nedivi, Matt Wolpert