Trust Us: Skip ‘Stranger Things’ and Catch Up on ‘For All Mankind’ on Apple TV+ This Memorial Day Weekend

You might think you have your Memorial Day weekend watch plans on lockdown. You’ll take some time on Friday and binge the first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi and then spend the rest of the weekend (or week) binge-watching the movie-length episodes of Stranger Things Season 4 Part 1.

Here’s the thing: if you do that, you might miss your chance to catch up on the best sci-fi show you’re not watching. This is going to sound crazy, but trust us: you might want to put Stranger Things Season 4 on the back burner this weekend so you can dive into For All Mankind instead.

Since its debut in 2019, Apple TV+’s For All Mankind has evolved into a critics’ darling and cult hit. While we legally can’t yet share if For All Mankind Season 3 lives up to Season 2’s heights — damn embargos! — we can strongly suggest that you’re going to want to make the time to catch up on one of the most inventive, clever, and emotionally devastating genre shows ever made before it returns on June 10.

For All Mankind takes place in an alternate timeline where the USSR lands on the moon before NASA can. This infuriates all of America, who devote more resources into the space program in a desperate attempt to not only catch up to the Soviets, but also outpace them. When the USSR lands a female cosmonaut on the moon, it forces NASA to train women to be astronauts as early as the late 1960s. From there, technology leapfrogs ahead, moon colonies exist by the ’80s, and in Season 3, humanity will land on Mars.

What makes For All Mankind so great, though, is its complex characters and gorgeously plotted storytelling. You will fall in love with (almost) every ferociously flawed, terribly courageous, utterly brilliant character on For All Mankind. The series starts off a tad slow, but soon finds its legs once it commits to its alternate timeline. By the time you get to later episodes, you also understand why early installments introduced seemingly random storylines. Everything ties together in hilarious, heartbreaking, and horrifying ways. You will laugh, cheer, and gasp throughout For All Mankind‘s run.

If you’re still on the fence about swapping out the biggest show in the world for a niche Apple TV+ drama on your watchlist…the new season of Stranger Things is fine. It’s just fine! There is definitely fun to be had, but you might find yourself feeling overwhelmed by the 70-98 minute long episode runtimes. (We did.) Plus, the final two episodes of the season won’t drop until July 1, so if you’re someone who likes a straight binge, you might want to wait. 

Again, trust us on this one: For All Mankind is the rare sci-fi show that’s full of both spectacular visuals and soapy drama. It’s a series that never stops surprising, but more importantly, it never stops inspiring. There’s a reason why viewers who have stuck with it are such obsessive devotees. It’s just damn good.

For All Mankind Season 3 premieres on June 10 and new episodes air weekly after that.