''Mars'' is a

hard science-fiction Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novemb ...

television series produced by

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

that premiered on November 14, 2016, on its channel and FX. Prior to its official airdate, 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

Stephen Petranek Stephen Petranek is an American writer, and editor of '' Breakthrough Technology Alert''. He has previously edited ''Discover'', and ''The Washington Post''s magazine. He was the founding editor and editor in chief of ''This Old House'' magazine f ...

book ''How We'll Live on Mars'' (2015). The fictional narrative alternates initially between the years 2016 and 2033, 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, ''Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet'' (October 2016), details the science behind the show. A

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...

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. The lead actress, Jihae, confirmed via her official Instagram that the series was canceled after only two seasons.

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 kilometers 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 is interview footage of real-life figures in the present, as well as of the fictional crew and their mission control. The real-life present-day interviews are with various scientists, engineers, and other public figures, such as Elon Musk,

Susan Wise Bauer Susan Wise Bauer (born 1968) is an American author, English instructor of writing and American literature at The College of William and Mary, and founder of Well-Trained Mind Press (formerly Peace Hill Press). Early life and education Susan Wise ...

, Andy Weir, Robert Zubrin, and Neil deGrasse Tyson, among others, 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: * Ben Cotton as Ben Sawyer, American mission commander and systems engineer. * Jihae Kim as ** Hana Seung, American mission pilot and systems engineer, later mission commander, and ** Joon Seung, her twin sister and

CAPCOM is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...

of mission control on Earth, later secretary-general of International Mars Science Foundation, the multi-nation organization funding the Mars expedition. *

Clémentine Poidatz Clémentine Poidatz (born 19 June 1981) is a French actress. She studied at the Cours Florent then at the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique in Paris, France. Filmography Cinema * 2017 : ''To Each, Her Own'' by Myriam Aziza : G ...

as Amelie Durand, French mission physician and

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

. * Sammi Rotibi as Robert Foucault, Nigerian mission engineer and

roboticist Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integr ...

. * Alberto Ammann as Javier Delgado, Spanish mission hydrologist and geochemist. *

Anamaria Marinca Anamaria Marinca (born 1 April 1978) is a Romanian actress. She made her screen debut with the Channel 4 film ''Sex Traffic'', for which she won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress. Marinca is also known for her performance in ...

as Marta Kamen, Russian mission exobiologist and geologist. * Olivier Martinez as Ed Grann, CEO of the Mars Missions Corporation, consortium of private aerospace companies preparing Mars expeditions. * as Leslie Richardson, a logistical engineer who joins the expedition to oversee the base's expansion. In Season 2, she becomes secretary-general of International Mars Science Foundation. With the exception of Martinez and Cotton, all of these actors returned for the second season, which started production in July 2017.

Season 2

* Esai Morales as Roland St. John,

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Lukrum. * Jeff Hephner as Kurt Hurrelle, commander of the Lukrum Mars mission. *Roxy Sternberg as Jen Carson, one of the Lukrum workers.

Production

The series music is composed by

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...

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 Stephen Cragg is an American television producer and director. Cragg has directed several network television series. Cragg also directed episodes of '' ER'', ''Boston Legal'', ''Detroit 1-8-7'', ''Southland'', ''Harry's Law'', ''Northern Exposure ...

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)

Special (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

References

External links

* * {{National Geographic TV 2016 American television series debuts 2018 American television series endings 2010s American science fiction television series Television series set in the 2030s Fiction set in 2033 English-language television shows Science education television series Television series about outer space Mars in television National Geographic (American TV channel) original programming Neil deGrasse Tyson Television series about space programs Television series by Imagine Entertainment Television series about astronauts