New NATGEO series takes a deeper look at America’s race to space
SUMMARY
Following World War II, the former Soviet Union and the United States began the ultimate race to space. The Right Stuff series by NATGEO premiering on Disney+ chronicles a period of time filled with excitement, fear and more than anything, hope.
The new series is based on the nonfiction book of the same name written by the late Tom Wolfe. "This book grew out of some ordinary curiosity. What is it, I wondered, that makes a man willing to sit up on top of an enormous Roman candle such as a Redstone, Atlas, Titan or Saturn rocket, and wait for someone to light the fuse?" he wrote in his foreword for the 1983 edition of The Right Stuff.
The Right Stuff brings viewers into the intensity of a monumental time period in United States history. As the NASA space program began, President Eisenhower insisted that the first astronauts be pilots. Although the program stated that they would need decades to get a man on the moon and successfully in space, they were given an ultimatum. Two years.
The series follows the famed Mercury Seven as they began their quest to become the first men in space. When they were introduced to the world publicly, they were immediately idolized and revered by most Americans. What followed after their selection included rigorous training and tests to see who would be the first.The famed Mercury Seven were Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton – fighter pilots for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. The new series boasts actors Jake McDorman, Michael Trotter, Patrick J Adams, James Lafferty, Aaron Staton, Colin O'Donoghue and Micah Stock. Executive producers of the new series include Oscar winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio, founder of Appian Way Productions.
The Right Stuff series follows two men in particular, Major John Glenn, a Marine, and Lieutenant Commander Alan Shepard, highly regarded as the best navy pilot in its history. It also brings the viewer into the around the clock work of the NASA engineers as they fought their way to space, with the timeclock of their deadline continuously ticking ominously in the background.
In an interview with Business Wire, Disney+ weighed in on the excitement of the new series. "As our audiences around the world turn to Disney+ to find inspiration and optimism, we believe the true-life heroism of the Mercury 7 will showcase the tenacity of the human spirit and inspire a new generation to reach for the stars," said Ricky Strauss, President, Content Marketing, Disney+.
Patrick J Adams as John Glenn. (National Geographic)
In the first episode of season one, the viewer enters into the height of the Cold War in 1958. It opens in the Mojave Desert as the United States reacts to Sputnik and the mission to beat the Soviet Union in the race to space. The premise of the show brings a new generation into the heart of the life and world changing experience of that time. After the seven become overnight celebrities, the series follows their struggles and triumphs on their journey to space.
With the Mercury Seven astronauts constantly in the public eye, each episode digs deep to showcase the PR machine that existed to present the perfect picture, but they were far from it. What will it take to make it to space? The ending of the trailer highlights dramatic events unfolding in an eerily voiced countdown.
The opening line of the compelling trailer says it all, "American's love stories and this story ends with a climax in space." The Right Stuff showcases the raw cost of that ambition coming to fruition, as well as the invigorating hope and excitement it all brought to a country in desperate need of both.