Apple TV+’s Star City arrives as one of the most anticipated sci-fi dramas of 2026 — a bold, propulsive spinoff of the beloved alternate-history series For All Mankind, this time told from behind the Iron Curtain. Starring Rhys Ifans, Anna Maxwell Martin, Agnes O’Casey, Alice Englert, Solly McLeod, and Adam Nagaitis, the eight-episode thriller drops its first two episodes on May 29, 2026, exclusively on Apple TV+. Scoring this chilling Soviet space-race story is acclaimed Argentine composer Federico Jusid — the man behind some of prestige television’s most atmospheric scores in recent years.
Quick Facts
| Title | Star City |
| Type | TV Series |
| Genre | Sci-Fi / Espionage Thriller |
| Composer | Federico Jusid |
| Premiere Date | May 29, 2026 |
| Platform / Where to Watch | Apple TV+ |
| Status | Season 1 concluded July 10, 2026; renewal not yet announced |
Star City Soundtrack Details at a Glance
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Series Name | Star City |
| Network / Platform | Apple TV+ |
| Premiere Date | May 29, 2026 |
| Season Episodes | 8 Episodes (concluded July 10, 2026) |
| Series Creators | Ben Nedivi, Matt Wolpert, Ronald D. Moore |
| Production Studio | Sony Pictures Television |
| Composer | Federico Jusid |
| Score Album Label | Milan Records |
| Score Album Release Date | June 5, 2026 |
| Official Tracklist | 28 tracks (see below) |
| Total Runtime | Approx. 57 minutes |
Star City Soundtrack Overview
Star City is a paranoid thriller set in an alternate-history universe where the Soviet Union beat the United States to the Moon. The series dives behind the Iron Curtain, following the cosmonauts, engineers, and intelligence officers who powered the Soviet space program — all while living under the weight of state surveillance and ideological pressure.
Scoring this world is Federico Jusid, confirmed by Film Music Reporter on April 23, 2026, as the composer attached to the series. Given the show’s setting — Cold War USSR, institutional paranoia, and the grandeur of space ambition — Jusid’s score is expected to blend orchestral sweep with tension-driven, chamber-style writing. His previous work on similarly atmospheric prestige dramas makes him a natural fit for Star City‘s specific emotional register: vast yet claustrophobic, heroic yet deeply anxious.
Update: The official score album, Star City (Apple Original Series Soundtrack), was released digitally on June 5, 2026 via Milan Records, roughly a week after the season passed its midpoint. The 28-track album (approximately 57 minutes) compiles Federico Jusid’s complete Season 1 score, including three cues co-credited to Jusid and Guillermo Pita. Season 1 concluded on July 10, 2026 after eight episodes.
Who Composed the Star City Soundtrack?
The Star City original score is composed by Federico Jusid — an Argentine-born composer who splits his time between Madrid and Los Angeles, and one of the most versatile voices working in prestige international television today.
Born in Buenos Aires on April 23, 1973, Jusid is the son of Argentine film director Juan José Jusid and actress Luisina Brando. He began studying piano and composition at age seven, going on to win several international piano competitions before pivoting to screen composition. He holds Spanish citizenship and has built a career spanning both the European and Hollywood markets with remarkable fluency.
Jusid has composed original scores for more than 60 feature films and over 30 television series, with his orchestral compositions performed in venues including Carnegie Weill Hall in New York, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra House in Tel Aviv.
His most celebrated work remains the score for The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos, 2009), directed by Juan José Campanella — the film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and Jusid received a Goya Award nomination for Best Original Score from the Spanish Film Academy.
On the television side, his profile in the English-language market rose sharply with The English (2022, Amazon/BBC), a critically acclaimed Western starring Emily Blunt. That score earned him a BAFTA nomination for Best Original Music: Fiction and was named the best TV score of 2022 by IndieWire.
His run of prestige series work continued with A Gentleman in Moscow (Paramount+, 2024) — the Ewan McGregor-led period drama — followed by A Thousand Blows (Disney+/Hulu), the period boxing series created by Peaky Blinders writer Steven Knight. He also composed the thriller film Rest In Peace Soundtrack, and also received an Emmy Award nomination for his score for the BBC/Netflix animated miniseries Watership Down.
More recently, Jusid also scored the feature film Monitor — directed by Matt Black and Ryan Polly — which premiered at SXSW 2026 and was acquired by Searchlight Pictures for a 2027 theatrical release. He is additionally expected to return for Season 2 of MGM+’s Robin Hood.
Star City marks his first collaboration with Apple TV+.
Star City Official Tracklist
(Source: Film Music Reporter — Verified June 4, 2026)
| # | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Star City Main Title | 1:08 |
| 2 | Hidden in the Snow | 1:08 |
| 3 | We Don’t Have to Do It | 2:15 |
| 4 | Tapes | 0:59 |
| 5 | Sergei’s Apology | 1:26 |
| 6 | Takeoff (feat. Guillermo Pita) | 3:43 |
| 7 | I Stand Here Today | 2:34 |
| 8 | Of Love and Duty | 2:16 |
| 9 | Chief Designer’s Realisation | 0:58 |
| 10 | Venera | 6:35 |
| 11 | No Signal | 1:27 |
| 12 | The Mole | 1:08 |
| 13 | Race to the Finish | 2:42 |
| 14 | A Dangerous Game | 1:51 |
| 15 | Anastasia’s Nocturne | 1:34 |
| 16 | On the Run (feat. Guillermo Pita) | 2:02 |
| 17 | Kazakhstan Launchpad | 1:01 |
| 18 | A Cautious Friendship | 1:37 |
| 19 | Blueprints | 1:56 |
| 20 | Ghosts | 0:47 |
| 21 | A Quiet Sacrifice | 1:21 |
| 22 | Irina Investigates | 2:39 |
| 23 | To Know What Every Person is Doing Before They Do It | 2:54 |
| 24 | Moon Landing | 1:29 |
| 25 | Slipping Through the Shadows (feat. Guillermo Pita) | 3:11 |
| 26 | A Message from Home | 3:17 |
| 27 | Elegy for the Stars | 1:13 |
| 28 | New Horizons | 2:17 |
Total Runtime: Approx. 57:28. All tracks composed by Federico Jusid, except “Takeoff,” “On the Run,” and “Slipping Through the Shadows,” co-credited to Jusid and Guillermo Pita.
Score Highlights
Star City Season 1 has now aired in full, and both the series and its score were well received. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season holds a 97% approval rating from 30 critics (average rating 8.4/10), with the critics’ consensus calling it “taut, ambitious, and impressively self-assured.” On Metacritic, the season scored 80/100 based on 16 critics, indicating “generally favorable” reviews.
Tone and Approach: Jusid’s score matches the show’s blend of orchestral grandeur and tightly coiled psychological tension, echoing the strengths he previously showed on The English and A Gentleman in Moscow. Standout cues include the sprawling “Venera” (6:35), the album’s longest and most expansive track, and the three collaborations with vocalist/guitarist Guillermo Pita — “Takeoff,” “On the Run,” and “Slipping Through the Shadows” — which bring a distinct, more intimate texture to the otherwise orchestral score.
Sonic World: True to the Soviet setting, Jusid’s score is distinct from For All Mankind‘s original music (composed by Jeff Russo and Paul Doucette), leaning into a more classical, Eastern European-inflected orchestral palette that suits the series’ Cold War paranoia and space-race grandeur.
Star City Licensed Songs / Needle Drops
Star City makes use of period-appropriate licensed music throughout its eight episodes, leaning heavily on Russian and Soviet-era singers alongside a few Western classical and pop selections. The following episode-by-episode breakdown is sourced from NME.
Episode 1
- ‘Воспоминание’ – Edita Piekha
- ‘Мне нравится’ – Ирина Подошьян
Episode 2
- ‘Y’en a qui font ça’ – Sacha Distel
- ‘The Third Degree’ – Marc Bolan
- ‘Mother Popcorn (Pts. 1 & 2)’ – James Brown
Episode 3
- ‘The Guess Who’ – Undun
Episode 4
- ‘Ты’ – Lyudmila Senchina
Episode 5
- ‘Листья летят’ – Larisa Mondrus
Episode 6
- ‘Quartet No. 59’ – Joseph Haydn
Episode 7
- ’13 Preludes, Op. 32: No. 12 in G-Sharp Minor. Allegro’ – Sergei Rachmaninoff
No licensed needle drops were confirmed for Episode 8, the season finale, which relies solely on Jusid’s original score.
Federico Jusid — Selected Filmography
| Year | Title | Medium | Network / Studio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | The Secret in Their Eyes | Film | Sony Pictures Classics |
| 2015 | Isabel (Score) | TV Series | RTVE / Canal+ España |
| 2018 | Watership Down | Miniseries | BBC / Netflix |
| 2018 | Life Itself | Film | Amazon Studios |
| 2022 | The English | Miniseries | Amazon / BBC |
| 2022 | Santa Evita | TV Series | Hulu / Star+ |
| 2023 | Iosi, the Regretful Spy (S2) | TV Series | Amazon Prime Video |
| 2024 | A Gentleman in Moscow | Miniseries | Paramount+ |
| 2024 | The Asunta Case | Miniseries | Netflix |
| 2024–2026 | A Thousand Blows | TV Series | Disney+ / Hulu |
| 2025 | The Head (Latest Season) | TV Series | Max |
| 2026 | Monitor | Film | Searchlight Pictures (2027) |
| 2026 | Star City | TV Series | Apple TV+ |
Where to Listen to the Star City Soundtrack?
The Star City score album, released by Milan Records on June 5, 2026, is available now on major music platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
Fans can also watch the full first season on Apple TV+, which aired from May 29, 2026 through the season finale on July 10, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who composed the Star City soundtrack?
The original score for Star City is composed by Federico Jusid, an Argentine composer known for his work on The English (BAFTA-nominated), A Gentleman in Moscow, A Thousand Blows, and The Secret in Their Eyes — the Academy Award-winning film.
Has the Star City score album been released?
Yes. The official score album was released on June 5, 2026 via Milan Records, featuring 28 tracks and a runtime of approximately 57 minutes.
When did Star City premiere on Apple TV+?
Star City debuted on Apple TV+ on May 29, 2026, with the first two episodes releasing together. New episodes followed weekly through the season finale on July 10, 2026.
How many episodes does Star City Season 1 have?
Season 1 of Star City consists of 8 episodes.
Who created Star City?
The series was created by Ben Nedivi, Matt Wolpert, and Ronald D. Moore — the latter also the co-creator of For All Mankind and Battlestar Galactica. It is produced for Apple TV+ by Sony Pictures Television.
Is Star City connected to For All Mankind?
Yes. Star City is an official spinoff set in the same alternate-history universe as For All Mankind, but told from the Soviet perspective — exploring the cosmonauts, engineers, and KGB operatives behind the Iron Curtain in a world where the USSR won the space race.
Where can I stream Star City?
Star City streams exclusively on Apple TV+. An Apple TV+ subscription is required to watch the series.
Related reading: Discover more Apple TV+ originals in our Apple TV+ streaming guide, browse the full TV Soundtrack hub, or check our general streaming guide for more coverage.