Directing Noomi Rapace (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Django) in zero-gravity in a replica of the International Space Station in a character-driven dramatic sci-fi thriller with touches of horror and quantum physics. Apparently, that’s how Michelle MacLaren tops being one of the best producers of Breaking Bad and directing solid TV hits like Better Call Saul, The Morning Show, The Walking Dead, and Games of Thrones. It was all in the stars for the director/producer, who teamed up with Peter Harness, the ambitious showrunner behind Apple TV+’s sci-fi thriller Constellation.
Rapace headlines the new series, playing beleaguered astronaut Jo Ericsson, who returns to Earth after a disastrous incident at the International Space Station. But life back on Earth is far from what she knew it to be. Somehow, significant pieces of her life seem to be missing. The action-driven space adventure explores the gritty edges of human psychology and Jo’s frenzied attempts to expose the truth about the hidden history of space travel and, hopefully, regain everything she has lost.
Michelle MacLaren and Peter Harness shared more in this exclusive interview, touching upon everything from working zero gravity to Noomi Rapace’s intense challenges and the shocking final shot of the series that’s bound to generate some buzz.
Interweaving Different Genres in Constellation
Constellation
- Release Date
- February 21, 2024
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- Turbine Studios, Haut Et Court Tv
- Streaming Service(s)
- Apple TV+
Constellation also stars Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) as former astronauts Henry and Bud Caldera; James D’Arcy (Oppenheimer) as Magnus Taylor, Jo’s husband, Davina; and Rosie Coleman as Alice Ericsson-Taylor. William Catlett, Henry David, Carol Weyers, Barbara Sukowa, Julian Looman, and Sandra Teles also star.
While in space, Jo and other astronauts suddenly find themselves reeling from a disastrous mishap, which forces Jo to navigate the harrowing journey of piloting the Soyuz 1 back to Earth, landing near the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. But even before her return, something feels off. And once Jo is back on the ground, returned to her family, she’s even more confused. Desperation mounts, and she sets out to uncover what really happened to her during that ill-fated space incident.
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MacLaren, the executive producer and the director of the first two episodes of the season, was responsible for overseeing the filming of most of the ISS disaster and spacewalk scenes. Weeks of rigorous training in wire harnesses with the show’s stunt team ensued, and working with and simulating the zero-gravity proved challenging.
When asked how her work on former shows like Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saul informed her on how to execute challenging sequences in Constellation, McLaren said:
“I was able to draw on the different genres that I’ve been part of to bring to Constellation, because it’s not just one genre. It’s a character-driven, dramatic thriller with a sci-fi and horror element. It was great to be able to bring those different elements to it. And it was new and challenging for me. I’d never done zero-G before. I had shot in Morocco before with Game of Thrones, and I love filming in the desert. Well, I have a lot of experience filming in the desert with Breaking Bad, but this was a whole new challenge with having the zero-G. But it was fun. It was fun to mix the genres. I really enjoyed being able to draw on those different elements.”
Zero-Gravity and Noomi Rapace
Noomi Rapace underwent a grueling process adjusting to zero-gravity in show’s key scenes early on. “She was committed 100 percent both physically and emotionally,” MacLaren noted of Rapace. “She’s brilliant. I loved working with her. Zero-G is so challenging, especially for the actors, because they’re either hanging on wires, or on a rolling seat, or a rolling platform on their bellies, or they are miming it while they are acting. So, every single moment, you have to remember that you are floating. But you are restricted or constricted in some way or the other.
“And the set itself was very confining,” she added. “[Production Designer] Andy Nicholson built a replica [of the ISS]. You are supposed to float in the I.S.S., not walk, so we had to make changes, obviously, for the camera and for people to be in there, but we wanted to keep it very claustrophobic, so only pieces would come off. It was very confining and challenging for everybody.”
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But it’s also exciting. She points out that retired astronaut/consultant Scott Kelly “walked onto the set and said, ‘Wow, this is deja vu and the scope of the whole show… Apple TV+ and Turbine and Haute et Court, they let us go to the Arctic. They let us in Northern Finland, which was spectacular. They let us go to Morocco and shoot for Kazakhstan [scenes], and they let us recreate the ISS. It gives it that huge epic cinematic scope. It makes a massive difference because the locations become a character themselves in the show.”
Constellation Is a ‘Puzzle Box’
Fun facts: Turbine and French Film Company Haut et Court brought the concept to Peter Harness, who made a dent with such outings as JonathanStrange & Mr. Norrell, and Doctor Who. Executive producer Tracey Scoffield knew Harness from other projects—they felt he could create something unique. Harness, faced with the monumental task of launching an epic new series with the potential for multiple seasons, researched everything from Buzz Aldrin to other space-related facts, incidents, and history.
Most interesting, perhaps, is that the production spent five weeks focusing on sequences within zero gravity, minimizing reliance on wires, and opting for various in-camera techniques to capture the actors’ freedom of movement. Meanwhile, the plot, filled with mind-bending twists, will keep viewers guessing from beginning to end.
“I was keen that it being a bit of a puzzle box to begin with,” Peter Harness shared of how he plotted the entire season, which often “time” jumps. If you’re a fan of twisty sci-fi dramatic thrillers, Constellation will satisfy that craving.
“I thought it was very important that by the end of the first season that the kind of the questions we’d set up at the beginning have still at least resolved themselves,” Harness added. “We’d taken some toys out of the box, and we tied it up after ourselves by the end and started to provide some explanations. So, I’m hoping that once you’ve been through it, you have an inkling or a theory about how it all stacks together. And that initial part of the story of how Jo went up there [in space] and became separated from her daughter, and how they come back together in whichever ‘constellation’ they come back together in. I think that’s resolved.
“But there are some questions that we’re definitely leaving open at the end of it. And I mean, the last shot, in particular, maybe makes you think that the story has somewhere else to go.”
Constellation streams on Apple TV+ beginning February 21. Watch the trailer below.
