For All Mankind Season 4’s Controversial Character Exit Defended By Showrunners

The article contains SPOILERS for For All Mankind, season 4, episode 1, “Glasnost.”

For All Mankind showrunners defend one controversial character’s season 4 exit. Returning for its fourth installment on Apple TV+, the alternate history sci-fi show jumps eight years from the events of season 3’s finale. Now, in the year 2003, Happy Valley has rapidly expanded its footprint on Mars and the focus of the space program has shifted to capturing and mining extremely valuable, mineral-rich asteroids. But within that shift, new tensions emerge, and familiar faces depart.

Speaking with TVLine to break down For All Mankind season 4, episode 1, “Glassnot,” showrunners Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi detail the exit of Danny Stevens (Casey W. Johnson), who had been a part of the Apple TV+ sci-fi drama since season 2. The duo, who created the series with Ronald D. Moore, discusses the decision to write off the divisive Danny. They then address the negative reaction to Danny, who has often been derided for his subplots, and tease that the character could still return. Read their quotes below:

MATT WOLPERT: I think with a lot of different characters in the show, there are times where the story feels like it’s run its course, and the nature of our show is that it has to keep evolving. So I think it felt like the right time for Danny to fade into the background, to put it one way. But I also think, this is a generational story, right? We told the story of his parents, and we’re telling the story of their children, and he has a daughter now. So in the evolution of the show, there’s something about telling the story of these families that is really intriguing to us.

BEN NEDIVI | No. If anything it probably pushed back against [the polarizing fan response]. Because honestly, I think if you start reacting too much to what fans are saying, you kind of are chasing your own tail. It’s a slippery slope. We felt the actor did a fantastic job conveying that character. I think the hatred for him was partially because of the job he did conveying that character. And like Matt said, many characters, their arcs are shorter on this show, and some are longer. The nature of the show, really, from the beginning, we kind of had to do a deal with the devil that some characters are going to have to go in order to bring in new characters. So I think this season was a big pivot point in terms of bringing in someone like Toby Kebbell, someone like Tyner [Rushing] and Daniel Stern. So in order to do that and give those characters the room they need, you need to also move on from other characters.

And really, honestly, like what guides the decision of whether a character comes back or how they come back, a lot of times, it really comes down to the story potential. Like, do we feel like we’ve covered enough ground in their story? Have we completed their arc? Or is there more story to tell with that character? That’s usually the guiding light for us in the room. And with Danny, originally, I think we wanted to bring him [back], but we saw the bigger scope of where the story was going this season and it didn’t really make sense. But again, the actor did a fantastic job, and we would definitely work with him again.

NEDIVI: What’s interesting, too, [is] it’s not like his story is over. Not to give away any spoilers, but in a way, the mystery of what happened to him is something that does play this season, and I think that was really intriguing to us as a way to help other storylines and character arcs.

NEDIVI: I mean, I hate to share anything, honestly. I think that the mystery is intentional, and there will be some clarity, but you know, it’s For All Mankind, so you never know.

How For All Mankind Handles Danny’s Exit

Danny’s absence, which was teed up in the For All Mankind season 3 finale, looms over the premiere. It’s in the closing of that third installment that Danny confesses to being responsible for the mining accident that cost the astronauts their lives. His confession causes Ed (Joel Kinnaman) and Danielle (Krys Marshall) to exile him in an abandoned North Korean spaceship. But despite the time jump, Danny looms large in the debut of season 4.

In the premiere, it’s revealed that Danielle has retired from NASA at some point between 1997 and 2003. She’s first seen at a birthday party for Danny’s daughter, and her guilt is obvious whenever she encounters a photo of Danny. It’s not mentioned what has happened to him in the time jump to the 2000s. But as the showrunners mention, his story could still gain clarity.

For All Mankind‘s season 4 cast of characters has several new additions, including Servant star Toby Kebbell as Miles, who is looking for a new job opportunity on Mars. He soon realizes that it’s not all he hoped it would be. It leaves less space for Danny, who drew a strong reaction of disdain during his presence from both critics and audiences.