Mars is a National Geographic series that dares to split its attention between two timelines. The 2016 TV show follows six astronauts on a journey to Mars in 2033, while documentary-style interviews with real scientists and experts fill in the gaps. It’s a hybrid that tries to be both a drama and a lesson in space science, and the two sides don’t always play well together.
Trailer, via National Geographic.
The Astronauts and Their Mission
The crew of the Daedalus spacecraft is led by Ben Sawyer, played by Ben Cotton, an American mission commander and systems engineer. Jihae plays Hana Seung, the American mission pilot and systems engineer, who later becomes mission commander. Her twin sister, Joon Seung, is the CAPCOM of mission control on Earth, and later becomes secretary-general of the International Mars Science Foundation. Clémentine Poidatz plays Amelie Durand, the French mission physician and biochemist. Sammi Rotibi plays Robert Foucault, a Nigerian mission engineer and roboticist. Alberto Ammann plays Javier Delgado, a Spanish mission hydrologist and geochemist. Anamaria Marinca plays Marta Kamen, the Russian mission exobiologist and geologist. Olivier Martinez plays Ed Grann, the CEO of the Mars Missions Corporation, a consortium of private aerospace companies preparing Mars expeditions. Cosima Shaw plays Leslie Richardson, a logistical engineer who joins the expedition to oversee the base’s expansion and later becomes secretary-general.
The crew’s mission is simple: land on Mars, establish a sustainable colony, and prove that humans can live there. The show doesn’t waste time on their personalities. It’s more interested in the technical challenges: the malfunction that forces them to land 75.3 kilometers away from their planned habitat, the systems failures, and the psychological strain of being so far from Earth.
The Docudrama Formula
The show’s biggest trick is its structure. The narrative alternates between 2016 and 2033, with present-day interviews explaining the science behind the fictional events. The interviews feature real figures in the field, including Elon Musk, Susan Wise Bauer, Andy Weir, Robert Zubrin, and Neil deGrasse Tyson. These segments are meant to ground the story in real science, but they also break the flow. A character is talking about a problem, and then the camera cuts to a scientist explaining how that problem works in real life.
It’s a bold approach, and it works some of the time. When the interviews are brief and to the point, they add context without slowing the story down. When they run long, they feel like a lecture with a screen in front of you. The show also includes interviews with the fictional crew and mission control, which are less structured but still useful for showing the human side of the mission.
The Critics’ Verdict on Mars
The critical consensus on Mars is that it’s a solid, ambitious show that falls short of its goals. It’s a hard science-fiction series that tries to be both entertaining and educational, and it doesn’t always manage both at once. The series is based on Stephen Petranek’s book How We’ll Live on Mars (2015), and the show follows the same broad trajectory of the book: launch, landing, colony, survival.
The reviews are mixed. Some critics praised the scientific accuracy and the ambition of telling a story about Mars in this way. Others found the structure confusing and the pacing slow. The show was canceled after two seasons, and the lead actress, Jihae, confirmed the cancellation via her official Instagram.
The Second Season
The second season of Mars premiered on November 12, 2018. It picks up several years after the first season, with the Daedalus astronauts having built a full-fledged colony called Olympus Town. The story shifts to examine the impact that humans have on the Red Planet and the consequences the planet has on us. The show’s approach stays the same: real interviews mixed with scripted drama. The cast returned with the exception of Martinez and Cotton.
The second season also includes a prequel episode called Before Mars, which tells the story of a moment in the life of one of the astronauts and the decisions she made to get involved in science. It’s a small addition to the main series, but it gives viewers a deeper look at the characters outside the main narrative.
The Verdict on Mars
Mars is a show that wants to do a lot. It wants to be a gripping drama about the first humans on Mars. It wants to be an educational documentary about the science behind space travel. It wants to be a cultural artifact about what we think the future will look like. It succeeds at moments, but it never fully commits to being any one thing.
The show is at its best when it focuses on the astronauts themselves. The cast is strong, and the tension of landing safely and then surviving on a hostile planet is genuinely compelling. The worst moments come when the show leans too hard on the interviews. A scene of a malfunctioning system can be tense. A scene of a scientist explaining why that system is malfunctioning can be tedious.
The show also struggles with its pacing. The first season moves at a deliberate pace, which can feel slow for viewers used to the quick cuts of modern television. The second season picks up the pace, but it still feels cautious. The show is clearly trying to set up a long-term vision for Mars, but it never quite gets there. The story ends with the colony established and the crew facing new challenges, but the series itself ends without resolving those challenges.
The critics’ verdict on Mars is that it’s a solid, ambitious show that falls short of its goals.
The Numbers Behind Mars
- Network: National Geographic
- First aired: November 14, 2016
- Last aired: December 17, 2018
- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 12
- Premiere date: November 14, 2016 (TV), November 1, 2016 (streaming)
- Renewed: January 13, 2017
- Second season premiere: November 12, 2018
- Critic score: 5.9/10
The Final Word
Mars is a show that deserves credit for its ambition. It’s the first time a major network has tried to tell a story about Mars using this hybrid docudrama format. The show is well-made, with strong performances and a genuine interest in the science of space travel. But it’s also a show that never quite finds its footing. The interviews are informative, but they break the story’s momentum. The pacing is slow, and the show’s second season leaves many questions unanswered.
The show is worth watching for anyone interested in space exploration. It’s a thoughtful, well-researched look at the future of Mars, and it’s likely to be remembered as an important early step in television’s attempt to make hard science fiction a regular part of the schedule. It just doesn’t fully succeed at being an entertaining piece of drama.
Mars is a show that tries to do too much at once. It’s a solid, ambitious show that falls short of its goals, and it deserves a score that reflects that.
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