Mission To Mars

Sean Penn plays an astronaut heading to the Red planet in new sci-fi series The First

The next milestone in human space endeavour, landing on Mars, feels within touching distance, but what sacrifices will need to be made before we reach the Red Planet?

That’s the question at the heart of C4’s epic new space drama The First, in which two-time Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn plays a charismatic, out-of-favour astronaut, Tom Hagerty. It’s the year 2031 and as we join the action, a manned rocket is about to launch into space. But Hagerty has been kicked off the mission at the last minute, for reasons we don’t yet understand. The woman responsible for his dismissal is the CEO of the contractor running the Mars project, Laz Ingram (Natascha McElhone).