I thought that Mars was going to be a longer series than it was (only 6 episodes) and be entirely made up of the fiction variety. What we get here is two stories in one. Each episode bounces back and forth between 2016 and 2033 / 2037. Everything relating to 2016 is more documentary with talking heads of real people: Scientists, Astronauts and Entrepreneurs like Elon Musk who are there to get across why travel to Mars is necessary. Now each time we venture into the world of 2016, they lay out what is needed and expected from those traveling to Mars. When we jump to 2033, we get a fictional take of what was just discussed. These scenes uses the cinematic narrative to get across the 'what ifs' and what it will be like on the Red Planet. I like both ways of telling the story, but I gotta say that listening to those trying to making this dream a reality to be far more interesting because you learn a lot of valuable things here. Stuff I never knew about for sure. Definitely worth checking out. I enjoyed it. Just wish it was a bit a longer. Was expecting 10 episodes minimum.  Ron Howard and Brian Grazer executive produced the series, so you know exactly what to expect.