Mars (2016 TV series)


Mars is a documentary and hard science fiction television series produced by National Geographic, which premiered on November 14, 2016, on their channel, and FX. Prior to its official air date, it was launched in a streaming format on November 1, 2016. It blends elements of real interviews with a fictional story of a group of astronauts as they land on the planet Mars.
The series is based on the 2015 book How We'll Live on Mars by Stephen Petranek. The fictional narrative alternates initially between the years 2033 and 2037, using present day non-fiction interviews to explain events unfolding in the story. The series was filmed in Budapest and Morocco.
A companion book to the series, called Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet, was published in October 2016 detailing the science behind the show. A prequel episode, called Before Mars, was produced and released conjointly with the series. It tells the fictional story of a moment in the life of one of the astronauts, and the decisions she made to get involved in science.
On January 13, 2017, it was announced that National Geographic had renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on November 12, 2018.

Premise

In the year 2033, a crew of six astronauts launch from Florida on a journey to be the first people to set foot on Mars. During the descent into the Martian atmosphere, there is a malfunction with their spacecraft, the Daedalus. They land 75.3 kilometres away from their planned habitat. On Earth their progress is being monitored. In the second season, the story jumps ahead several years into the future after the Daedalus astronauts have built a full-fledged colony called Olympus Town. Having established humankind as an interplanetary species, Season 2 examines the impact that humans have on the Red Planet and the consequences the planet has on us.
Intermixed with the story are real-life interview footage from the present, of the crew, and their mission control; there are interviews with various public figures, including scientists and engineers, such as Elon Musk, Susan Wise Bauer, Andy Weir, Robert Zubrin, and Neil deGrasse Tyson, about the difficulties that the crew might face on a journey to, and living on, Mars.

Cast

The cast for the fictional part of the first season includes:
With the exception of Martinez and Cotton, all of these actors joined the second season, which started production in July 2017.

Season 2

The series music is composed by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. The soundtrack for the first season was released on November 11, 2016.
For the second season, Dee Johnson took over as showrunner. Stephen Cragg and Ashley Way joined returning director Everardo Gout. Esai Morales, Roxy Sternberg, Gunnar Cauthery, Levi Fiehler, Evan Hall, Akbar Kurtha and Jeff Hephner joined the Season 2 cast.
The second season premiered in the UK and Belgium on November 11, 2018, and in the US on November 12.

Episodes

Prequel (2016)

Season 1 (2016)

Season 2 (2018)

Reception

Critical response

The first season of Mars received mixed reviews, holding a 61% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average score of 7.33/10 based on 18 reviews; in 2018, the critical consensus stated:
"Ron Howard's direction ensures that Mars is an attractive endeavor, even if the show struggles to move smoothly between its documentary and fictional elements."

On Metacritic, the first season has received a score of 59 out of 100 based on 14 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Accolades

AwardCategoryRecipientResult
Saturn AwardsBest Television PresentationMars