Damn If Netflix’s ‘Space Force’ Doesn’t Just Look Like the Funniest Show of the Year

The real-life Space Force that Donald Trump created late last year is perhaps not his most pressing concern at the moment, but Netflix has released the first trailer for their Steve Carell-led comedy about the sixth branch of the armed forces. Judging by the trailer, things aren’t going great for the fictionalized version of the Space Force, either.

Created by Greg Daniels, best known for the American version of The Office, Space Force will blast off on May 29, though the launch-pad explosion Carell’s character watches in the distance indicates that there won’t be much outer-space action this season. Carell, famously an Office alum himself, plays recently promoted four-star general Mark R. Naird. Excited about his new title, the former Air Force man is eager to see what his country wants of him, only to chortle with laugher at the absurd idea of a “Space Force.” Unfortunately for him, he’s the sucker charged with making this somewhat ill-conceived and militaristic return to the moon a reality.

In a press release, Daniels and Carell, who is also listed as a co-creator, explain that Netflix came up with the idea for a show about a then-fictitious Space Force before the real deal was a twinkle in Trump’s eye.

Daniels said the ethos (and a lot of the humor) of the show comes from looking at the current state of the new space race, where it’s a fairly naked scramble for riches and dominance. “The contrast between that and the super hopeful early days of NASA, when it was just such an achievement for all of mankind to get a person on the moon, is a good subject for satire,” Daniels noted.

Friends legend Lisa Kudrow plays Naird’s wife while Booksmart’s Diana Silvers plays his daughter. John Malkovich, Parks and Rec’s Ben Schwartz, Tawny Newsome, Jimmy O. Yang, Noah Emmerich, Alex Sparrow, and Don Lake also star.

Look for Space Force when it premieres on Netflix on May 29, and damn if that scene from the trailer of Naird, trapped inside singing the Beach Boys’ “Kokomo” while wishing he was somewhere else doesn’t hit differently.

Thomas Lennon

Source