ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

Hilary Swank stars as a groundbreaking astronaut on a mission to Mars – who suddenly faces a family crisis back on Earth…

- STEVEN PERKINS

At a time when even getting on an aeroplane feels like a risky proposition, the idea of space travel seems like an impossible dream. But in Netflix’s new 10-part drama Away, it’s the culmination of a lifetime’s training and hard work for astronaut Emma Green.

Played by two-time Oscar-winner Hilary Swank, Emma is the commander of a five-person crew on the first mission to Mars. As such, she’s the subject of much attention – and her husband, NASA engineer Matt Logan (Josh Charles) and teenage daughter Alexis (Talitha Bateman) couldn’t be prouder.

However, in the early stages of the mission, Emma’s mishandling of an emergency on the ship causes her to doubt her own ability to lead effectively. And when she finds out later that Matt has been rushed to hospital, Emma considers standing down to be with her family when they need her the most.

The series was inspired by an article about a real-life space crisis in Esquire magazine, which resonated with creator Andrew Hinderaker.

‘The article was about astronaut Scott Kelly, who was on the International Space Station when his sister-in-law, a politician called Gabby Giffords, was shot and nearly killed,’ recalls Hinderaker.