Today as part of the Disney+ presence at Comic-Con@Home a panel for The Right Stuff - the upcoming scripted original series from National Geographic - was held where a new trailer for The Right Stuff was unveiled.
The Right Stuff is based on Tom Wolfe's novel, "The Right Stuff", and was previously adapted into a film by Philip Kaufman in 1983. For Nat Geo, The Right Stuff will be a series that sets the stage for multiple potential seasons following the many milestones of the U.S. Space Program and the people involved.
For at least the first season The Right Stuff will strictly focus on the early days of NASA and the iconic "Mercury Seven" - America's first astronauts.
Nat Geo's THE RIGHT STUFF Official Clip
At the height of the Cold War in 1959, the Soviet Union dominates the space race, and America fears it is a nation in decline. Newly-formed NASA has the monumental task of sending a man into space, and its engineers estimate they need decades to accomplish the feat. They are given two years. Dubbed Project Mercury, the program recruits and trains just seven astronauts from a handful of the military’s best pilots. Within days of being presented to the world, the Mercury Seven become instant celebrities, forged into heroes before they achieve a single heroic act. At a time when many wondered if America’s glory days were behind it, The Right Stuff is an aspirational story about how ordinary human beings can achieve the extraordinary. As much about who we are today as it is about historic achievements, the series evokes the wonder of this singular era, when the free world looked towards a new horizon of hope as we first stepped off the bounds of our only home to venture into the vast unknown.
Below you can watch the full one-hour Comic-Con@Home 2020 panel for The Right Stuff which was moderated by former NASA Astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison, and featured cast members Patrick J. Adams (“Major John Glenn”), Jake McDorman (“Lieutenant Commander Alan Shepard”), Colin O’Donoghue (“Captain Gordon Cooper”), Michael Trotter (“Gus Grissom”), Aaron Staton (“Wally Schirra”), Micah Stock (“Deke Slayton”), James Lafferty (“Scott Carpenter”), Nora Zehetner (“Annie Glenn”), Shannon Lucio (“Louise Shepard”), Eloise Mumford (“Trudy Cooper”), Eric Ladin (“Chris Kraft”), and Patrick Fischler (“Bob Gilruth”), Showrunner and Executive Producer Mark Lafferty, and Executive Producer Jennifer Davisson.
Last fall we had the opportunity to visit the Orlando production of National Geographic's The Right Stuff and meet the cast and crew. The show was since announced in May to launch this fall on Disney+ this fall thanks to Disney's acquisition of Fox (who own Nat Geo). It marks another example of Nat Geo's expansion into scripted, premium original programming (like Mars) and the type of high-end content Disney+ is in dire need of.
Expect lots of exclusive coverage and interviews for The Right Stuff from Screen Rant this fall!
Nat Geo's The Right Stuff premieres fall 2020 on Disney+.