Ringer-Verse Recommends: May 2026 (Featuring ‘Outlander,' 'For All Mankind,' and 'Star City')
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What shows are being discussed in this episode?
Hello and welcome into the RingerVerse, your Nexus feed for all things fandom. I am Ben Lindberg, Senior Editor for the Ringer, Button Mash host, and your Master of Ceremonies here at RingerVerse Recommends, welcoming you into the edition for May 2026. Now, as you know, normally what we do, we get together a collection of clips from various hosts and friends of the Ringerverse and House of R, and we pair that with a main central spotlight conversation. This time, we're just doing the latter. We're stripping it down, but also giving you maybe more than we usually do. Look, I'm disappointed too. We always like to get a collection of clips, but sometimes it just doesn't work out. There are vacations, there are travel, there's other obligations.
But that means that I have even more time to bring you a main central conversation with one of my favorite TV critics, Catherine Van Arendonk, who writes for Vulture, also does the TV is Good podcast with Alan Sepinwall. And she will be joining me. to talk about a perfect sci-fi pairing for Ringiverse fans. We will be talking about Outlander and For All Mankind, as well as their associated spinoffs. So if you have not followed these shows, that's okay. You should. I recommend them.
How does 'Outlander' compare to 'For All Mankind'?
That's what we do here on this program. You do not have to have seen them. We will sell you on them, and we will start out spoiler-free, and we will warn you when we enter spoiler territory. For those who haven't heard of these shows, who have no idea what I'm talking about, I will give you a grounding, just a basic synopsis of Outlander and For All Mankind. Outlander is a time travel, romantic-y story starring Sam Heughan as the Highland love, Jamie. of Claire, a 20th century nurse who travels back through some stones in Scotland to the 18th century. And there is a lot of sex. There is a lot of romance. There is a lot of violence. It's also sometimes heartwarming, and it's very beautiful and pretty to look at and listen to.
And we follow these core characters over the course of decades from the Jacobite rising in Scotland in the 1740s all the way up to the American Revolution. So that gives you some sense of what you're getting with Outlander. Of course, it gets more complicated from there. For All Mankind is a alternate history hard sci-fi show that starts from the premise that the Soviets won the space race. They landed on the moon first. And now we figure out what comes of that. How does history develop differently because of that first move? And then we expand elsewhere in the solar system. Humanity advances, decades pass, characters come and go. But it's basically an alternate history look at past and also how that affects the future.
So that gives you some sense of what you're getting. These shows have the same creator, the fabled sci-fi hero, Ronald D. Moore, And so if you've ever seen one of his shows, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, et cetera, then maybe that will give you some buy-in beyond my recommendation.
What are the major spoilers in 'Outlander'?
So Catherine and I are aligned on this point. We both really love these shows, and we're going to talk about why, and we're going to talk about why they deserve more attention than they get. And we're also going to have more of a wide-ranging conversation about TV and sci-fi and fantasy and whether there is an appeal to fans of both of these shows or whether it's either or. Spoiler, I think and we think it's the former. So I will be back to bid you farewell at the end. But right now, we will transition right to my in-studio conversation with Catherine. We will start with sort of a high-level, spoiler-free overview of these shows. I know everyone's watching Widow's Bay on Apple TV. So am I. You can check out our coverage elsewhere on the network.
What is the premise of 'For All Mankind'?
There's also maximum pleasure guaranteed, but don't sleep on For All Mankind or for that matter, Outlander, where people sleep with each other, not on each other, sometimes both. I will be right back with Catherine. Well, one of my favorite TV critics has crossed state lines, or at least one state line, to appear on this podcast.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What shows are being discussed in this episode?
0:13–1:27
2
How does 'Outlander' compare to 'For All Mankind'?
1:27–3:17
3
What are the major spoilers in 'Outlander'?
3:17–4:01
4
What is the premise of 'For All Mankind'?
4:01–5:03
5
What key themes are explored in 'For All Mankind'?
5:03–6:00
6
What spoilers should viewers be aware of in 'For All Mankind'?
6:00–6:09
7
What conclusions can be drawn about the future of these shows?
6:09–1:33:17
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from The Ringer-Verse
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