Netflix's 'Away' orbits around astronaut family tension in a predictable but satisfying Season 1

Netflix's newest drama is marked by an intense astronaut mission, cinematic visuals, and an atmospheric score — so at first glance, it looks like an epic sci-fi adventure. In actuality, it plays more like a familiar family drama that just happens to be backdropped by space. Created by Parenthood executive producer Jason Katims, Away takes place in a near-future where a group of five international astronauts, headed by Hilary Swank's Commander Emma Green, aim to become the first people to step foot on Mars. Half of the series takes place in the stars. Emma and her team have a 3-year journey to and from the Red Planet, and on the way there, they're forced to deal with many physical and emotional challenges. There's always something going wrong on the spaceship, and there's constantly someone on it who is longing for their lover, child, or brother, as revealed through a series of flashbacks. The other side of the series takes place back on Earth, centering primarily on the conflicts faced by Emma's NASA engineer husband, Matt (Josh Charles), and her 15-year-old daughter, Lex (Talitha Bateman). While Matt is balancing single-parenthood with the debilitating aftereffects of a recent stroke, Lex is navigating first love, her fraying relationship with her mom and dad, and the looming fear that she will one day suffer from her father's stroke-causing disease. Read more...More about Space, Drama, Away, Tv Review, and Hilary Swank