For All Mankind and The Expanse: are the two shows actually connected?

They're not officially connected. But the overlap is fun.

Quick refresher

For All Mankind — Apple TV+, created by Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica). The Soviets land on the Moon first in 1969, the space race never ends. Each season jumps forward about a decade. By season 5 (currently airing), Mars has a colony of thousands. Renewed for a 6th and final season; spinoff Star City premieres 29 May 2026.

The Expanse — originally Syfy, then Amazon. Based on novels by James S.A. Corey (Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck). Set roughly 200 years in the future. Humanity split between Earth, Mars, and the Belt. 6 seasons, completed.

Where it gets interesting

As For All Mankind moves through its seasons, it keeps stacking up elements that map onto The Expanse's backstory:

• A permanent Mars colony developing its own identity
• Asteroid mining becoming a major economic force
• Growing resentment between off-world residents and Earth
• Corporations wielding massive influence in space
• Emerging class divides between those who stayed and those who left

Read that list after watching The Expanse and it looks like a recap of the centuries before the show starts.

What the creators say

For All Mankind's team has confirmed it's a standalone alternate reality. No link to The Expanse. Different studios, different source material, different creative teams.

There's also a timeline mismatch — FAM diverges from history in 1969 and moves forward. The Expanse is set in a distant future that doesn't align with any specific alternate scenario.

That said, nobody designed them to connect — but they rhyme. One shows humanity's first real steps off Earth. The other shows what that species looks like a few hundred years later. The thematic throughline fits together remarkably well on its own.