Constellation (TV series)

Plot

An unidentified object collides with the International Space Station, killing one of the five astronauts and crippling most onboard systems and one Soyuz descent module. Three survivors evacuate in the functional Soyuz, leaving Swedish astronaut Johanna "Jo" Ericsson to repair the other module. When she returns to Earth with her dead crewmate's body, she finds parts of her life missing or changed.

Production

Apple TV+ greenlit the series in April 2022, created by Peter Harness, with Noomi Rapace and Jonathan Banks starring and Michelle MacLaren directing. James D'Arcy joined the cast the following month, and Oliver Hirschbiegel and Joseph Cedar were announced as additional episode directors. Robert Shearman served as a story consultant. The production received a record €10 million grant from the German government's German Motion Picture Fund and €1.5 million in production incentives from Business Finland.

Filming ran from July 2022 to February 2023 in the German states of Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, and North Rhine-Westphalia, with partial production at Babelsberg Studio in Potsdam. Large-scale sets there included a realistic ISS replica, a Soyuz capsule, and other space-themed sets. The studio's entrance and the nearby Film University Babelsberg were used to depict ESA headquarters in Cologne. Visible locations also included the Potsdam Film Museum's open storage facility, with scenes shot in Teltow.

The episode "Valya" was primarily filmed at the former Beelitz Heilstätten. Additional filming took place in Denmark, Morocco, and Inari in northern Finland. In August 2023, Helsingin Sanomat reported that production companies had failed to pay over €1 million for services in Finnish Lapland. The following month, Turbine Studios emailed creditors announcing intent to pay the debts.

By the series' premiere on 21 February 2024, Ilta-Sanomat confirmed a settlement had been reached the previous autumn, though contractors could not comment due to a non-disclosure agreement. The series was canceled in May 2024.