Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank will star in Netflix’s sci-fi drama, Away. She will play astronaut Emma Green, who must leave her husband and teenage daughter behind to command an international space crew embarking upon a treacherous mission to Mars.
The series comes from Jason Katims and Matt Reeves. It’s loosely inspired by Chris Jones‘ Esquire article of the same name, and has been described as a series about hope and humanity. Netflix originally issued a 10-episode order for the drama in June 2018. At the time, Swank was only on board as an executive producer, but will now lead the series.
Jessica Goldberg (The Path) will serve as showrunner, writer, and executive producer. Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai) will helm the first episode.
As Netflix continues to expand its scope, Away is the latest small-screen project to chronicle the task of getting to Mars. Nat Geo brought their original series Mars to our screens in 2016, while Hulu aired The First, starring Sean Penn and Natasha McElhone, which revolved around a fictional effort to send the first manned mission to the Red Planet.
Mars and The First each earned warm praise. But considering Netflix’s TV track record, expect Away to at least get more people talking. With Swank on board, and Katims and Reeves involved – writers of Friday Night Lights and Felicity, respectively – we could be looking at Netflix’s next hit show.
#Peace.Love.Away
