‘For All Mankind’ Season 4: Original Star Not Returning as Series Regular

Jodi Balfour is stepping down on For All Mankind. TVLine reports that the actress, who portrays NASA astronaut and President of the United States, Ellen Waverly, will not be returning as series regular for the upcoming fourth season of the Apple TV+ sci-fi drama. It’s expected that she will still appear in Season 4 in some capacity in order to wrap up her storyline.

The actress is only the latest loss for the drama for the upcoming season. Both Shantel VanSanten and Sonya Walger won’t be coming back after their characters, Karen Baldwin and Molly Cobb, respectively, died during a domestic terrorist attack in the Season 3 finale. Daniel Stern, Svetlana Efremova, Tyner Rushing, and Toby Kebbell have all been added to the cast for Season 4.

Jodi Balfour has been on For All Mankind since the beginning of the series when it premiered in 2019. Ellen Waverly went from being an astronaut and member of “Nixon’s Women” to being the Administrator of NASA, a Senator, and later the President of the United States. She has definitely gone through a lot in just the three seasons of the Apple TV+ series, and while it will be upsetting to no longer see the boss lady on the show anymore, it will be interesting to see how her story wraps up. The fact that she is still expected to appear in some episodes in order to complete her arc shows that this isn’t the end of President Waverly, at least not yet.

Apple TV+ has yet to announce a premiere date for Season 4 of For All Mankind, but luckily, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes won’t delay anything. Midgard Times reported in February 2023 that filming wrapped on Season 4 and filming initially started in summer 2022. So it will be one of the few that won’t be delayed, meaning that it’s very possible that the series could be coming back later this year. Hopefully, Apple announces a date soon, though, because it’s been close to a year since the Season 3 finale, and fans are probably getting antsy. They can catch up on the first three seasons, though, to be prepared, especially if it has been a year since they last watched it.

For All Mankind is going to look a little different for Season 4, and it will be hard to get used to. It should still be one to watch, though, because there will still be plenty to look forward to, and fans will have to see how President Waverly’s story comes to an end.