Away Trailer: Jason Katims Space Drama Has a Lot of Heart
Paul Dailly
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I'm going to be totally honest.
When I heard about Away, I figured it was going to be just another space drama.
After watching the first trailer, however, my feelings have changed entirely.
From Executive Producer Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights, Parenthood), the series looks set to focus more on the emotional side of taking to the sky and leaving your family and life behind.
Netflix describes it as "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 also executive produced by showrunner Jessica Goldberg, Matt Reeves, Andrew Hinderaker, Edward Zwick, Hilary Swank, Adam Kassan and Jeni Mulein.
The streamer has also dropped some character biographies.
Emma Green (Hilary Swank)
Emma Green is an American astronaut and former Navy pilot. She is the commander of the first mission to Mars. She is a headstrong, empathetic and highly intelligent astronaut and leader. She is married to Matt Logan, a chief engineer at NASA. Emma and Matt have a 15-year-old daughter, Lex.
Matt Logan (Josh Charles)
Matt Logan is a NASA engineer whose wife Emma Green is commanding 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.
Alexis “Lex” Logan (Talitha Bateman)
15-years-old Lex is the daughter of astronauts Emma Green and Matt Logan. 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 own struggles.
Misha Popov (Mark Ivanir)
Misha Popov is a Russian cosmonaut and engineer on the mission to Mars alongside Emma Green. The most experienced member of the crew, Misha doesn’t lack for ego, but secretly struggles with the personal sacrifices he made to get to space.
Dr. Kwesi Weisberg - Abban (Ato Essandoh)
Kwesi Weisberg-Abban is a British citizen from Ghana.
Kwesi (pronounced Kway-Si) is good-humored, modest, and a man of deep faith. He’s a world-renowned botanist and carries with him the hope of growing life on Mars.
Ram Arya (Ray Panthaki)
Ram Arya is 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)
Lu Wang 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)
Melissa Ramirez 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 own 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.
Watch the trailer below.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
