The new series is a space adventure combined with a study of human psychology constellation A fascinating exploration of loss, uncertainty, conspiracy and family on Apple TV+, starring Noomi Rapace, James D’Arcy, Jonathan Banks, William Catlett, and Davina and Rosie Coleman.
Constellation’s release date: February 21
Where to watch Constellation: AppleTV+
Creator and showrunner: Peter Harness
Directors: Michelle MacLaren, Joseph Cedar, Oliver Hirschbiegel
Casting: Noomi Rapace, James D’Arcy, Jonathan Banks, William Catlett, Davina Coleman, Rosie Coleman, Barbara Sukowa, Julian Looman, Rebecca Scroggs
Number of episodes: 8
AppleTV+
Watch Constellation on Apple TV+, free for 7 days, then $12.99/month
$13 on Apple TV+
What is ‘Constellation’ about?
Inside constellation We meet the five-person crew on the International Space Station (ISS); This team includes Johanna “Jo” Ericsson (Noomi Rapace), who has a husband named Magnus (James D’Arcy) and a daughter named Alice (Davina Coleman and Rosie Coleman). ), is waiting for him at his home in Germany.
But when the ISS is involved in a collision that particularly affects Paul Lancaster (William Catlett), Jo goes on a spacewalk to find the source of the collision and sees something frightening.
Although Jo is adamant that she knows what she saw, things get more complicated on Earth because no one believes her. Even stranger, the entire reality of what Jo believes is her life has changed.
Additionally, among the tests conducted by ISS members was an experiment by former Apollo mission astronaut Henry Caldera (Jonathan Banks), and Henry insisted that the device be saved for quantum physics research. Henry also has a twin brother named Bud, who is a former astronaut, but they lived opposite lives after going into space.
For banks, constellation It was at the recommendation of Michelle MacLaren, one of the series directors. Breaking Bad And You better call Saul with star
“Jonathan is an incredibly talented character and can play different roles,” MacLaren said. Yahoo Canada. “We needed someone who could play two very different characters, but in a subtle way, and I knew Jonathan could do that.”
“I also felt like he was a step away from the game he’s been playing for a while. I was hoping it would get him excited and it did. … I love working with Jonathan, he always swings for the fences.”
“You don’t say no to Michelle,” Banks said in a separate interview.
“Once you get the hang of me, I’m the biggest ‘yes, darling’ man in the world. … One time, he put his finger on my chest while I was complaining about how long it was taking him to shoot, and he put his finger on my chest and said, ‘Do I make you look good?’ I said yes, too.”
Being a dedicated mother
constellation It’s part adventure story, part thriller, part conspiracy story, but at the heart of the series is a family-centered narrative.
“The gist of it is a mother and daughter who are separated from each other and how they manage to come back to each other,” said showrunner Peter Harness. “Obviously they got separated under pretty unusual circumstances, but I think it’s a very relatable thing for people, I think the whole family dynamic is a very relatable thing.”
“As long as you’re following an emotional journey, as you can understand, it frees you up to be able to bring in a lot of other things. And I think we were very keen to ground it in reality as much as possible, the ISS and the various space agencies and the reality of being an astronaut and how that can affect people.” So we tried to be very grounded and very emotionally centered to make all these other weird and wonderful things happen around.”
As James D’Arcy emphasized, the “beating heart” of the series for the actor was the family element.
“When I first read the scripts, the character of Alice was my way into the series,” she said. “We’re so used to great production value and amazing visual effects and everything else. I want to feel it.”
“I hope this show really helps people go on this crazy, complicated, roller-coaster ride because they’re invested in the people, they’re invested in the characters.”
For Rapace, she felt a bond with Jo trying to balance being a mother with work that took her away from her family, and was further strengthened by the circumstances she faced during this particular event.
“It’s the endless question I struggle with myself as a mother and… I love my job and I’m willing to go all the way over and over again for as long as it’s needed,” Rapace said. “I’ve sometimes seriously injured myself on set because my son walked in and was worried about me or didn’t recognize me.”
“Being a mother, loving my job, and that contradiction… Jo lived more like that, and to the extreme. That was the heartbeat for me. That’s the essence, the backbone of her journey.”
Noomi Rapace ‘force of nature’
From the physical demands of playing a character in space to the emotional toll Jo faces, both cast and crew constellation They quickly realized that an actor of Rapace’s caliber was needed for the role.
“Noomi is the perfect actress for this role, both emotionally and physically,” said director MacLaren. “And one of the things we learned very early on was that the astronauts were constantly practicing ‘What if’ every day they were on the ISS.”
“Noomi and I talked a lot about this: OK, when the accident happens they go into survival mode, they know their procedures, they know what to do, so they won’t freak out, as hard as it is, it’s scary and their lives are at risk… So being a trained professional, strong “And we had to find the balance between being able and being vulnerable and fearful and being a mother who wants to give back to her daughter. She’s such a strong person herself, she’s a force to be reckoned with. I mean, she’s a force of nature. So she’s embraced that really well.” “
As Rapace recalled, there were months of preparation to truly embody an astronaut, filled with a strict diet, special exercises every day, and general work on “body control.”
“It was all about finding some kind of flow, being so in charge of everything, letting go and freeing myself from physical attention, being able to feel and move and be present onstage,” Rapace said. “It was really challenging, but I loved it. It was truly one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”
Why ‘Constellation’ reduced star William Catlett to tears
However, it needed the investment to realize the detail required to bring any of these lands to the audience and to make it feel as original as the team behind the series intended.
As William Catlett emphasized, MacLaren particularly wanted everything to be “as real as possible”, which he said made him “one of the best directors” in the industry.
“When I watched the first two episodes, I cried a little at the screening because I’ve been waiting for a long time to be a part of a project that had the bells and whistles to make art look like this. It needs to be looked at,” Catlett shared. “So being on the ISS, which is a replica of the one in space, and talking to it [NASA astronaut] “It’s an actor’s dream to get Scott Kelly’s experience and have dinner with him and experience all of that.”
“It makes it real for the audience, and I think Apple did a great job giving us the support we needed to make a hit show. They spared no expense to make it feel true and real. You felt that support.”
AppleTV+
Watch Constellation on Apple TV+, free for 7 days, then $12.99/month
$13 on Apple TV+
In addition to stunning visuals, constellation It really sets itself apart from other drama series with the psychological component that drives the narrative. It is the element of human psychology and human behavior that is particularly complex and challenging.
“What was really appealing about Peter Harness’s writing was that he would take difficult psychological situations and then turn the screw every 15 minutes to make it worse,” D’Arcy said. “And then just when you think you understand what’s going on, it’ll show you from a slightly different angle.”
“The joy of that as an actor is that you can normally portray any situation in a certain way and that’s it. This series offers a slightly different version of that. You can actually explore the hidden recesses of the film. I think it’s in all of our minds. Who doesn’t live in more than one reality at the same time?”
“There’s side A of the tape, and there’s side B of the tape. It’s still the tape, but you have a different emotional response to side A, and you have a different emotional response to side B,” Catlett added.
Of particular interest to this series, as Harness explains, was the fascination with “altered mental states” and people’s perceptions of circumstances.
“What Jo is experiencing is based on a real psychological condition called Capgras syndrome, where people actually believe they are imposters,” Harness said.
“Of course, when you look at it from the outside you can see that it’s not true, but what must it feel like when you look at it from the inside, I truly believe that you’re a fraud and the whole world can’t let go of that thought.” This is not true. I think the horror of living in this is as scary as anything, even if it’s produced by your own blaming brain, especially if it’s produced by your own brain. … It’s always interesting. Try to convey what a particular mental state is like for everyone, because everyone’s reality is real to them.”