Star City EP Teases The 'Unconventional Love Story' Ahead For Anastasia And Sasha — Plus, Grade The Spin-Off's Premiere

You might not guess it from watching the first two episodes of Apple TV's "Star City," but it seems we're witnessing the beginning of a great love story.

"Star City," a spin-off of the streamer's alt-history drama "For All Mankind," launched with two installments on Friday, chronicling the mothership's same story — what if America didn't win the Space Race? — but from the Soviet perspective. During the premiere, polar-opposite cosmonauts Anastasia Belikova (Alice Englert) and Sasha Polivanov (Solly McLeod) are forced by the Soviet Union to marry each other, largely because Anastasia — the first woman to walk on the moon — is unwed, and the Soviets can't have that.

"It's actually inspired by a true story we couldn't believe, like a lot of the stories in 'Star City,'" series co-creator Ben Nedivi shares with TVLine. "The idea of a single woman being a hero to the Soviet Union was not possible. There was a situation where they forced cosmonauts to get married. And it felt like, 'Oh, that's something we have to dip our toes into as writers.'"

Aside from their profession, little else bonds Anastasia and Sasha at the start; Sasha describes spending time with his fiancée as "torture." But by the end of Episode 2, they've warmed up to each other a bit, particularly after Sasha helps Anastasia escape from a party she finds overwhelming, and they have a good time together at a club later that night. And though Sasha is already romantically involved with a fellow cosmonaut's wife (played by Ruby Ashbourne Serkis), distance starts to grow between Sasha and Tanya now that he's engaged to someone else... even if it's just for show.

According to Ben Nedivi, Sasha and Anastasia's marriage — which becomes official at the end of Episode 2 — will strengthen as the season continues, taking cues from real-life stories in which arranged marriages "sometimes end up being more successful than marriages based on love."

"We were really intrigued by these opposites — who, in their own ways, have been lost in life and haven't found their purpose and are trying to figure out who they are — finding that in each other somehow," he teases. "It felt like a real unique opportunity for them."

Nedivi also credits actors Alice Englert and Solly McLeod with the success of the storyline, "because it's one thing to have this idea of, 'We're going to tell this really unconventional love story in the most unconventional of ways,' but then you really need the right actors to capture that."

"What Alice did with Anastasia, from the audition on, was bring this odd duck to life," he continues. "You'll see her arc, from Episode 1 to Episode 8, is one of the most incredible journeys we've ever done with a character in a season."

How did you like the first two "Star City" episodes? Grade them in our poll below, then hit the comments with more of your thoughts!