Posted in: Apple, TV | Tagged: AppleTV, for all mankind, Jodi Balfour

For All Mankind Season 4: Jodi Balfour Not Returning as Series Regular

Jodi Balfour will be returning to the role of Ellen Waverly in AppleTV+'s For All Mankind Season 4 but not as a series regular.

Published Sat, 12 Aug 2023 14:07:06 -0500

by Tom Chang

Comments

For All Mankind star Jodi Balfour has had quite the journey as astronaut-turned-President Ellen Waverly, an original cast member of the AppleTV+ alternate history science fiction drama series. The actress, who's also appeared in the award-winning AppleTV+ series Ted Lasso, will return in season four, but at a reduced capacity, according to TV Line. Throughout For All Mankind, Ellen has been a closeted lesbian who pursued her political ambitions by marrying her gay friend Larry Wilson (Nate Corddry) for convenience for their respective careers.

For All Mankind: Series Regular Jodi Balfour's Season 4 Role Limited — Jodi Balfour in "For All Mankind." Image courtesy of AppleTV+

For All Mankind: Ellen Waverly's Journey

The two have a son in Scott (Milo Cragnotti), and Ellen becomes the 41st President of the United States as a Republican while still having feelings for Pam Horton (Meghan Leathers). Upon Ellen's coming out in season three, her conservative VP James Bragg (Randy Oglesby) is trying to force her hand at resigning. Created by Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi, For All Mankind spanned several decades of history that shifted the narrative of the space race between the Americans and Soviets, with the recent season jumping to 2003.

Ellen's first mission was Apollo 19, and she was later selected as commander of Apollo 24 – remaining in the same capacity as the Jamestown moon base. She would use her NASA service record to enter politics. In the third season, she confronts her internal conflict between her sexuality and the conservatives who put her in power when a male astronaut comes out during a mission. The season three finale terrorist attack took out Shantel VanSanten's Karen Baldwin and Sonya Walger's Molly Cobb. Joining the cast in season four are Daniel Stern as Eli Hobson, who takes over for Molly, tasked to bring the agency into the 21st century; Svetlana Efremova plays Irina Morozova, a high-ranking Soviet official; Tyner Rushing as Samantha, a space worker on the Mars colony; and Toby Kebbell as Miles, a former offshore oil platform worker pushing for a new job opportunity on Mars. There's no set premiere date for season four.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!