Space may be a cruel place when the frustration and stress of being away from your loved ones sets in. And that’s what we will see in Netflix’s emotional space drama Away. The upcoming series stars Hilary Swank as the captain of an international crew set to make the intergalactic journey to Mars. But this mission comes at a high cost as chaos finds its way into the ship.
Though, the teaser trailer doesn’t tell you that considering its relatively short runtime. Instead, we see Emma Green (Swank) floating in zero gravity, while she sheds a single tear as she reads a letter telling her that even though she seems like she is drifting further and further away, it is bringing her closer to home. A paradoxical mentality speaks to how even though the mission puts distance between them, it’s all for a greater purpose.
Here’s the official plot synopsis for Netflix’s Away:
From Executive Producer Jason Katims, the Netflix series Away is a thrilling, emotional drama on an epic scale that celebrates the incredible advancements humans can achieve and the personal sacrifices they must make along the way. As American astronaut Emma Green (Hilary Swank) prepares to lead an international crew on the first mission to Mars, she must reconcile her decision to leave behind her husband (Josh Charles) and teenage daughter (Talitha Bateman) when they need her the most. As the crew’s journey into space intensifies, their personal dynamics and the effects of being away from their loved ones back on Earth become increasingly complex. Away shows that sometimes to reach for the stars, we must leave home behind. Created by Andrew Hinderaker, the series is executive produced by showrunner Jessica Goldberg, Jason Katims, Matt Reeves, Andrew Hinderaker, Edward Zwick, Hilary Swank, Adam Kassan, and Jeni Mulein.
Away also stars Josh Charles as Matt Logan, a NASA engineer whose wife Emma Green commands the first mission to Mars. He faces the already enormous challenges of dealing with the mission from home while trying to raise their teenage daughter on his own.
Talitha Bateman will play Alexis “Lex” Logan, Matt and Emma’s 15-years-old daughter. Like her father, Lex is supportive and proud of her mother’s three-year mission. She struggles with coming of age while her mother is on the mission, and her father faces his struggles.
Greens crew includes Misha Popov (Mark Ivanir), a Russian cosmonaut and engineer on the mission to Mars alongside Emma Green. The most experienced member of the crew, Misha doesn’t lack ego but secretly struggles with the personal sacrifices he made to get to space.
Ato Essandoh plays Kwesi Weisberg-Adebayo is a British citizen from Ghana. Kwesi (pronounced Kway-Si) is cheerful, modest, and a man of deep faith. He’s a world-renowned botanist and carries with him the hope of growing life on Mars.
Then there’s Ram Arya (Ray Panthaki), an Air Force fighter pilot from India. While the other astronauts are forced to reckon with their attachments to Earth and their families, Ram is quite alone in the world. Lu Wang (Vivian Wu) is a chemist and astronaut representing China. She is intelligent and pragmatic, but below her focused exterior, she has a complex personal life. She is married with a young son. Melissa Ramirez (Monique Curnen) is a former astronaut who is Emma’s Crew Support Astronaut. Her job is to be Emma’s Liaison To Earth. Melissa gave up her career as an astronaut to support her special needs child, but she is there for Emma and her family. She takes care of Lex in Matt and Emma’s absence.
Away will premiere on Netflix on September 4, 2020.
