Away is an American science fiction drama television series starring Hilary Swank. Created by Andrew Hinderaker, the show premiered on Netflix on September 4, 2020. In October 2020, the series was canceled after one season. The show portrays the sacrifices an international group of astronauts make as they prepare to be away from their families for three years on the first crewed mission to Mars.
Away follows the first human mission to Mars, the Mars Joint Initiative. The mission is helmed by American Commander Emma Green, supported by her second-in-command, an Indian medical officer. Rounding out the diverse team are a Chinese chemist, a world-renowned British botanist making his space debut, and a Russian cosmonaut who holds the record for the most time in orbit. Emma's husband trained as an astronaut along with her, and might have commanded the mission but for a medical condition.
The three-year mission launches from the Moon. Several crew members do not trust Emma's ability to command because of her response to a crisis situation at the very beginning of the mission.
The series is described as being "about hope, humanity and how ultimately, we need one another if we are to achieve impossible things".
On June 10, 2018, it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. The series was created by Andrew Hinderaker, inspired by an Esquire article of the same name by Chris Jones. Executive producers were expected to be Jason Katims, Matt Reeves, and Adam Kassan. Hinderaker was set to serve as a co-executive producer and Rafi Crohn as a co-producer. Production companies involved with the series were to include True Jack Productions, 6th & Idaho, and Universal Television. Michelle Lee, former head of development at True Jack Productions, who was involved with the project's development and sale to Netflix, was expected to be credited as an executive producer on the first episode. Lee left True Jack Productions in December 2017. Jeni Mulein, who joined the production company as the new head of development in April 2018, was set to be credited as co-executive producer on the second through tenth episodes. On October 19, 2018, it was reported that Edward Zwick had joined the production as an executive producer and would direct the first episode.
As with any science fiction production, Away blends real science with futuristic possibilities. A notable example is a plot point in Vital Signs in which the astronauts listen intently for a sound boom picked up by the real-life Mars rover InSight. In 2022 scientists used InSight to listen for the landing of a real spacecraft.
On May 8, 2019, Hilary Swank was cast in a lead role. On July 17, 2019, Josh Charles joined the cast in a starring role. On August 8, 2019, it was announced that Talitha Bateman, Ato Essandoh, Mark Ivanir, Ray Panthaki, and Vivian Wu would play lead roles in the series.
Principal photography for the first season began on August 26, 2019, and concluded on February 5, 2020, in North Vancouver, Canada.
On July 7, 2020, Netflix released the first teaser trailer for the series, which was followed by the official trailer on August 10, 2020. Season one premiered on September 4, 2020. On October 19, 2020, Netflix canceled the series after one season.
For the series, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 59% based on 66 reviews, with an average rating of 6.22/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Away doesn't reach the stratosphere as a spacetime adventure, but emotional earnestness and a strong cast help make this a compelling enough journey to the stars." Metacritic gave the series a weighted average score of 59 out of 100 based on 27 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Kristen Baldwin of Entertainment Weekly gave the series a C, calling it "a self-important patchwork of space clichés and boilerplate family conflict that never manages to make it into orbit." Reviewing the series for Rolling Stone, Alan Sepinwall gave a rating of 3/5 and said, "The space scenes, while familiar, are energetic, fun, and often moving, while the Earthbound drama feels like we're being abruptly yanked back into normal gravity after getting to enjoy the wonders of floating among the stars."