Why Does Everyone In 'Star City' Speak English? The Showrunners Reveal The Reason

Star City shifts the franchise back to the USSR in 1969 and 1970, featuring performers playing Russian characters while avoiding Russian speech and accents. This change can feel jarring at first, but the series’ momentum helps viewers adjust quickly. The production team considered using Russian actors and producing the show in Russian to achieve authenticity, but concluded it would be impossible given current circumstances. The showrunners consulted Craig Mazin, known for Chernobyl, which similarly uses English-speaking actors to portray people from the USSR. Mazin advised that this approach was the only workable way, and the team followed that guidance.

"Because the alternate history series For All Mankind initially focused on a new kind of space race between the Soviet Union and the United States, nearly every actor who has played a Russian in that show has been of Russian descent. On top of that, including the most recent episodes in Season 5, when people speak in Russian, we get subtitles."

"But, as For All Mankind becomes a franchise with multiple series, the new show, Star City, is going back to the USSR in 1969 and 1970, and in this show, the performers are playing Russians, but nobody is speaking Russian, nor are there Russian accents. For some viewers, this may be jarring at first, but the propulsive and addictive quality of means that you'll get used to it very quickly."

"According to Nedivi, early in the process of developing Star City, there was a consideration to use all Russian actors and to have the show be done in Russian. "It was a thought," Nedivi tells Inverse. "Because I think you know how important it is for us to make things feel authentic and real. So, of course, we always think, let's aim for that. But early on in the process, we realized, especially with what's going on right now, how impossible that would be.""

"The showrunners also explain that they consulted with Craig Mazin, who was behind the powerful 2019 miniseries Chernobyl, because, like Star City, that show uses English-speaking actors playing people from the USSR. "He very quickly told us: 'This is the only way to do it. Do it this way. Trust me.' And I think he was right."

Read at Inverse