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In the early summer of 2018, Donald Trump announced that his government would be establishing a “Space Force”, a new branch of the military that would protect the US’s solar interests, such as satellites. Following this, Netflix swiftly got on the phone to Steve Carell.
The show that resulted from that phone call sees Carell play General Mark Naird. Naird is a decorated pilot who is promoted to a four-star general (which I guess is a big deal?) with the caveat that he leads the newly established “Space Force” that has just been announced (tweeted) by the unnamed President, known to the characters as POTUS. This first season revolves around the international space race to get “boots on the moon”, led by this new branch of the US military (genuinely a thing now – look it up). We are swept along with Naird as he has to deal with reluctant scientists, a trigger-happy military, international politics, family life and a tweeting President. So far, so contemporary America. However, whilst the foundation of the series stems from the ludicrousness of our living history, Space Force is quick to distance itself from satirising real events. It avoids taking the obvious satirical potshots, which, to me, feels like a wise move in an era when political reality often feels like farce. For some, however, this may seem like neglect for a show inspired by one such farcical political act.
Even though the show is co-created by Steve Carell and Greg Daniels (of The US Office and Parks and Recreation fame), Naird is not a buffoonish Michael Scott-type. Instead, he is a rather competent military leader with a somewhat unattainable ambition that does not correspond with the slower, more measured pace of science. This can often cause him to butt heads with his top scientist, Dr. Mallory (John Malkovich), but the two characters have to move past their frustrations in order to achieve what they want. The chemistry between Carell and Malkovich may seem like a confusing pairing on paper, but onscreen they are wonderful together.
Malkovich isn’t the only big name joining Carell. They are also joined by Lisa Kudrow, Diana Silvers, Ben Schwartz (playing a character called, literally, Fuck Tony Scarapiducci, who is like an uninhibited Jean-Ralphio), Jimmy O. Yang, Noah Emmerich and the late great Fred Willard in a very affecting final role. The cast are captivating, and the show balances each individual arc with what seems like the right amount of attention, leaving some backstories and development unresolved in order to successfully seduce its audience into watching the next episode. Two episodes (including the pilot) are also directed by Paul King, of Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017) fame, so it’s not just the onscreen talent that makes the show worth a watch.
The tone of humour is certainly comparable to The US Office and Parks and Recreation, but it doesn’t share their hyper-active pacing of jokes and gags. Unlike the quite localised settings of those shows, Space Force has a significantly larger world. This does slow the pace somewhat, but the show counteracts the potential negatives of this by filling in the extra space with a focus on the domestic lives of some of the characters, and some of their smaller dramas beyond international space politics.
Despite the wealth of talent behind the series, some of it just doesn’t work. A few extra jokes wouldn’t have gone amiss (and the cast and writers are certainly capable of delivery on this front), and one episode in particular involves a humiliating incident to which there isn’t really a convincing resolution. However, in a time as stressful as this, Space Force is a gentle binge (the stakes are intriguing, but never that high) of 10 charming 30-minute episodes that brought a smile to my face without leaving me with too much of a hangover about the state of the world.
Space Force is on Netflix from May 29.
