In Netflix’s latest space epic, Mom needs Mars

SPACE: IT MAY BE THE FINAL FRONTIER, BUT IT’S NOT exactly terra incognita for television. The mother of all outer-space shows, Star Trek, emerged out of the same space-race-obsessed 1960s pop culture that nurtured Doctor Who, 2001: A Space Odyssey and David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” Like many of its contemporaries, Gene Roddenberry’s series framed space exploration as the pinnacle of human achievement—a perilous, disorienting step into the unknown for his gallant characters, perhaps, but inarguably a giant leap for mankind.

Now, as billionaire-backed ventures transform galactic travel into big business, space shows are once again all over TV. This time, they’re a bit different. Many are workplace comedies, like and Serious takes and failure Even the franchise, diluted by too many CBS All Access spin-offs, has grown nostalgic and self-critical Closer to the earnest spirit of its predecessors yet fueled by the fraught relationships that tether astronauts to home is a Netflix drama from executive producer Jason Katims creator Andrew Hinderaker and showrunner Jessica Goldberg that imagines the first voyage to Mars.