(This article contains some spoilers for the first season of “Space Force” on Netflix)
Netflix’s “Space Force” does a kind of gag we’re not sure we’ve ever seen before: a gag without actually doing a gag. What creator Greg Daniels and co. did with this show is basically leave out a piece of the story, and then go on about their business without acknowledging it. We think they did it as a gag, anyway, since “Space Force” is a comedy show and not a drama or mystery.
What we’re talking about here, of course, is the situation with Maggie Naird (Lisa Kudrow), who spends almost the entirety of season 1 in prison. But the weird thing about that is that “Space Force” never establishes what she did to end up there. We just get only the vaguest references. At one point, General Mark Naird (Steve Carell) says that Maggie committed a “very serious crime.” On several occasions the characters mention that she’ll be locked up for at least 40 years, and one time it’s specified that her sentence is 40-60 years.
But nobody ever says what Maggie actually did. It’s not presented as a mystery, since it’s not necessarily important to the plot to know what her crime was. It’s just this strange information gap that never gets filled.
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So we asked “Space Force” co-creator Greg Daniels about it.
“At the moment, we’re kind of enjoying the mystery around it and the question marks that it raises. It causes you to lean in because we’re dropping little hints about what it is and how serious it was. So we’re enjoying not being specific at the moment. You didn’t miss anything. It’s not in there,” Daniels told The Wrap.
“It was pretty serious, clearly.”
So let’s examine the clues, which are very scarce. Obviously, we’ve got the stuff mentioned about — the 40-60 year sentence, Naird saying the crime was “very serious.” Beyond that, there’s just about nothing to go on.
The first episode contains a time jump of about a year, and the crime, or at least the trial, occurred during that gap. You’ll recall that Maggie was not in prison at the beginning of the premiere episode. But from there her imprisonment is basically just a fact of life, and there isn’t even any kind of discussion about the crime.
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But we have a few clues nonetheless. The first is that lengthy prison sentence, which is way too long to be something mundane. The second is that whatever she did wasn’t so serious that Naird was fired or forced to resign from his post at Space Force — though considering that “Space Force” is a comedy there’s probably more leeway here than there would be in real life.
Generally speaking, a sentence like that comes with a conviction for murder, sex crimes, or high-volume drug trafficking. But “Space Force,” which is at its heart a light comedy, is not the type of show that would go in either of those directions. But if we look at U.S. sentencing guidelines we can see other possibilities. Possibilities that could make for funny jokes.
While a prison sentence of 40-60 years is pretty much as high as the American criminal justice system goes before a life sentence, there are crimes that can earn that sort of sentence that could work as a gag. Per U.S. sentencing guidelines, there are two items that we think could fit that bill: piracy and kidnapping.
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While we typically think of piracy as a water thing, right now we’re looking more at air piracy. For example, perhaps Maggie, distraught about having to move from D.C. to Colorado as her husband takes over the new Space Force, had a breakdown on the flight out and tried to hijack the plane to force it to return to D.C. Really, Maggie would be around aircraft of all kinds so often that there are any number of situations we could imagine for a piracy charge.
But realistically, whatever the crime is, it’s likely the end up being the result of some kind of misunderstanding rather than something that would make us dislike Maggie. And honestly, the way Carell said “very serious crime” came off like he was trying to hide that it was actually something stupid and embarrassing instead of legitimately serious.
And hey, maybe that line of thought is why we don’t find out what Maggie did this season. Maybe they had planned to tell us, but the crime didn’t quite fit the tone of the show so they cut it.
Or maybe it’s just that the lack of an explanation is itself the gag and we’ll never actually find out what she did at any point before “Space Force” wraps up for good. Which would be pretty funny.
Summer is in full swing, and everyone is staying at home as much as possible to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Luckily, dozens of new and returning shows are premiering this summer. The list includes some big titles like “The Twilight Zone” and “The Umbrella Academy,” plus original shows for new streaming services HBO Max and Peacock.
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The CW/HBO Max/Netflix/TNT
Series: “The Chi” Net: Showtime Premiere: Sunday, June 21 Time: 9 p.m.
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Showtime
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Series: “Perry Mason” Net: HBO Premiere Date: Sunday, June 21 Time: 9 p.m.
HBO
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Series: “Yellowstone” Net: Paramount Network Premiere Date: Sunday, June 21 Time: 9 p.m.
Paramount Network
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Series: “NOS4A2” Net: AMC/BBC America Premiere Date: Sunday, June 21 Time: 10 p.m.
AMC
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Series: “B90 Strikes Back!” Net: TLC Premiere Date: Monday, June 22 Time: 8 p.m.
TLC
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Series: “Greenleaf” Net: OWN Premiere Date: Tuesday, June 23 Time: 9 p.m.
OWN
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Series: “Celebrity Show-Off” Net: TBS Premiere Date: Tuesday, June 23 Time: 10 p.m.
TBS
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Series: “Doom Patrol” Net: HBO Max/DC Universe Premiere Date: Thursday, June 25
DC Universe/HBO Max
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Series: “Search Party” Net: HBO Max Premiere Date: Thursday, June 25
HBO Max
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Series: “The Twilight Zone” Net: CBS All Access Premiere Date: Thursday, June 25
CBS All Access
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Series: “Dark” Net: Netflix Premiere Date: Saturday, June 27
Netflix
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Series: “Black Monday” Net: Showtime Premiere Date: Sunday, June 28 Time: 8 p.m.
Showtime
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Series: “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” Net: HBO Premiere Date: Sunday, June 28 Time: 10 p.m.
HBO
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Series: “Unsolved Mysteries” Net: Netflix Premiere Date: Wednesday, July 1
Netflix
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Series: “Marriage Boot Camp” Net: We TV Premiere Date: Thursday, July 2 Time: 9 p.m.
We TV
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Series: “Carl Weber’s The Family Business” Net: BET+ Premiere Date: Thursday, July 2 Time: 9 p.m.
BET+
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Series: “The Baby-Sitters Club” Net: Netflix Premiere Date: Friday, July 3
Netflix
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Series: “Hanna” Net: Amazon Prime Video Premiere Date: Friday, July 3
Amazon Prime Video
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Series: “Outcry” Net: Showtime Premiere Date: Sunday, July 5 Time: 10 p.m.
Showtime
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Series: “Stateless” Net: Netflix Premiere Date: Wednesday, July 8
Netflix
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Series: “Tough as Nails” Net: CBS Premiere Date: Wednesday, July 8 Time: 9 p.m.
CBS
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Series: “Close Enough” Net: HBO Max Premiere Date: Thursday, July 9
HBO Max
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Series: “Expecting Amy” Net: HBO Max Premiere Date: Thursday, July 9
HBO Max
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Series: “Cannonball” Net: USA Premiere Date: Thursday, July 9 Time: 8 p.m.
USA
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Series: “Chrisley Knows Best” Net: USA Premiere Date: Thursday, July 9 Time: 9 p.m.
USA
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Series: “Greatness Code” Net: Apple TV+ Premiere Date: Friday, July 10
Apple TV+
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Series: “Little Voice” Net: Apple TV+ Premiere Date: Friday, July 10
Apple TV+
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Series: “P-Valley” Net: Starz Premiere Date: Sunday, July 12 Time: 9 p.m.
Starz
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Series: “Brave New World” Net: Peacock Premiere Date: Wednesday, July 15
Peacock
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Series: “The Capture” Net: Peacock Premiere Date: Wednesday, July 15
Peacock
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Series: “In Deep With Ryan Lochte” Net: Peacock Premiere Date: Wednesday, July 15 Time: N/A
Peacock
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Series: “Intelligence” Net: Peacock Premiere Date: Wednesday, July 15
Peacock
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Series: “Married at First Sight” Net: Lifetime Premiere Date: Wednesday, July 15 Time: 8 p.m.
Lifetime
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Series: “United We Fall” Net: ABC Premiere Date: Wednesday, July 15 Time: 8 p.m.
ABC
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Series: “The House of Ho” Net: HBO Max Premiere Date: Thursday, July 16
HBO Max
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Series: “Indian Matchmaking” Net: Netflix Premiere Date: Thursday, July 16 Time: N/A
Netflix
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Series: “Killer Camp” Net: The CW Premiere Date: Thursday, July 16 Time: 8 p.m.
The CW
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Series: “Cursed” Net: Netflix Premiere Date: Friday, July 17 Time: N/A
Netflix
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Series: “Absentia” Net: Amazon Prime Video Premiere Date: Friday, July 17
Amazon Prime Video
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Series: “The Alienist: Angel of Darkness” Net: TNT Premiere Date: Sunday, July 19 Time: 9 p.m.
TNT
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Series: “The Andy Cohen Diaries” Net: Quibi Premiere Date: Monday, July 20 Time: N/A
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Series: “Die Hart” Net: Quibi Premiere Date: Monday, July 20 Time: N/A
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Series: “Love on the Spectrum” Net: Netflix Premiere Date: Wednesday, July 22 Time: N/A
Netflix
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Series: “Corporate” Net: Comedy Central Premiere Date: Wednesday, July 22 Time: 10:30 p.m.
Comedy Central
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Series: “Room 104” Net: HBO Premiere Date: Friday, July 24 Time: 11 p.m.
HBO
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Series: “Wynonna Earp” Net: Syfy Premiere Date: Sunday, July 26 Time: 10 p.m.
Syfy
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Series: “Helter Skelter: An American Myth” Net: Epix Premiere Date: Sunday, July 26 Time: 10 p.m.
Epix
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Series: “Don’t Look Deeper” Net: Quibi Premiere Date: Monday, July 27 Time: N/A
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Series: “Last Chance U” Net: Netflix Premiere Date: Tuesday, July 28
Netflix
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Series: “The Dog House” Net: HBO Max Premiere Date: Thursday, July 30
HBO Max
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Series: “Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy” Net: Netflix Premiere Date: Thursday, July 30
Netflix
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Series: “The Frayed” Net: HBO Max Premiere Date: Thursday, July 30
HBO Max
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Series: “Muppets Now” Net: Disney+ Premiere Date: Friday, July 31
Disney+
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Series: “The Umbrella Academy” Net: Netflix Premiere Date: Friday, July 31
Netflix
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Series: “Real Housewives of Potomac” Net: Bravo Premiere Date: Sunday, Aug. 2 Time: 8 p.m.
Bravo
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Series: “Taskmaster” Net: The CW Premiere Date: Sunday, Aug. 2 Time: 8 p.m.
The CW
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Series: “Fridge Wars” Net: The CW Premiere Date: Sunday, Aug. 2 Time: 9 p.m.
The CW
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Series: “The Fugitive” Net: Quibi Premiere Date: Monday, Aug. 3
Quibi
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Series: “Catfish” Net: MTV Premiere Date: Wednesday, Aug. 5 Time: 8 p.m.
MTV
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Series: “Coroner” Net: The CW Premiere Date: Wednesday, Aug. 5 Time: 9 p.m.
The CW
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Series: “Star Trek: Lower Decks” Net: CBS All Access Premiere Date: Thursday, Aug. 6 Time: N/A
CBS All Access
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Series: “Selling Sunset” Net: Netflix Premiere Date: Friday, Aug. 7
Netflix
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Series: “Surviving Jeffrey Epstein” Net: Lifetime Premiere Date: Sunday, Aug. 9 Time: 8 p.m.
-
Series: “Mapleworth Murders” Net: Quibi Premiere Date: Monday, Aug. 10
Quibi
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Series: “Hard Knocks” Net: HBO Premiere Date: Tuesday, Aug. 11 Time: 10 p.m.
HBO
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Series: “Ted Lasso” Net: Apple TV+ Premiere Date: Friday, Aug. 14
Apple TV+
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Series: “World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji” Net: Amazon Prime Video Premiere Date: Friday, Aug. 14
Amazon Prime Video
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Series: “Lovecraft Country” Net: HBO Premiere Date: Sunday, Aug. 16 Time: 9 p.m.
HBO
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Series: “Dead Pixels” Net: The CW Premiere Date: Tuesday, Aug. 18 Time: 8 p.m.
The CW
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Series: “Lucifer” Net: Netflix Premiere Date: Friday, Aug. 21
Netflix
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Series: “Ravi Patel’s Pursuit of Happiness” Net: HBO Max Premiere Date: Thursday, Aug. 27 Time: N/A
HBO Max
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Series: “Love Fraud” Net: Showtime Premiere Date: Sunday, Aug. 30 Time: 9 p.m.
Showtime
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Series: “A.P. Bio” Net: Peacock Premiere Date: Thursday, Sept. 3 Time: N/A
NBCUniversal
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Series: “Away” Net: Netflix Premiere Date: Friday, Sept. 4 Time: N/A
Netflix
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Series: “The Boys” Net: Amazon Prime Video Premiere Date: Friday, Sept. 4 Time: N/A
Amazon Prime Video
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Series: “Woke” Net: Hulu Premiere Date: Wednesday, Sept. 9 Time: N/A
Hulu
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Here’s when 76 broadcast, cable and streaming series debut and come back
Summer is in full swing, and everyone is staying at home as much as possible to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Luckily, dozens of new and returning shows are premiering this summer. The list includes some big titles like “The Twilight Zone” and “The Umbrella Academy,” plus original shows for new streaming services HBO Max and Peacock.
Also Read: