I just learned of a new comedy from Steve Carell coming out on Netflix May 29 about the creation of Space Force, called “Space Force”, unsurprisingly. Got some interesting names in it, like John Malkovich, Lise Kudrow, Jane Lynch, Fred Williard, and Jimmy O. Yang (Silicon Valley).
I’m hoping it’s at least in part a biting, Strangelovian satire of the Trump administration, but I might be getting my hopes up too much. Other than a joke in which it’s announced that the President wants to create a new “Space Force” agency and a table of military leaders starts laughing, the trailers make it look more just like a silly comedy. Still, it might be something to watch.
Yeah, definitely an obvious comparison, in that Steve Carrell is playing the head of an organization who is clearly unsuited for the job and out of his depth. Hopefully there’s more to it than that though.
I liked Greg Daniels’s other recent show “Upload” (on Amazon), which was a mix of silly comedy moments and more biting satire. So I’m cautiously optimistic.
*Co-created by Carell and Daniels and starring Carell, Space Force is centered around the people tasked with creating a sixth branch of the armed services…Space Force.
Steve Carell, who co-created the series, will star and executive produce. Daniels will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Fellow Office alum, 3 Arts’ Howard Klein, will also serve as executive producer.*
Sounds like The Office ‘in space’ to me. Which, really, isn’t a bad thing; the incompetence in military bureaucracy is a rich vein of humor and hypocrisy that is too infrequently mined. I’m imagining something like The Pentagon Wars stretched out to series length, although I’d really rather see it be done by Mitch Hurwitz and the Arrested Development creative team.
Made by the same guy who made “Upload”, eh? Interesting. I guess that means DrForrester won’t like it, judging by that “Upload” thread awhile back
I agree, a well-done version of “The Office”, only space-related, wouldn’t be bad. But I’d like to see something with some satirical teeth to it, that gets Trump rage-tweeting at 3 a.m. about how bad the show is, and what a bunch of losers are in it.
In that case they need to cast Alec Baldwin as “President Ronald Glamp” and guest star Robert DeNiro as his Attorney General. Mitt Romney can cameo as himself.
I’m just judging from the trailer but I’m not getting an Office feeling or seeing a biting political satire. This looks like an underdog comedy, where somebody who is expected to fail will overcome his difficulties and achieve a big success.
I’m hoping the big success will be realizing that nobody in the “Space Force” will actually be going into space and disband the new service for being an incredibly dumb idea.
I watched Avenue 5 on HBO and while it’s not the bestest funniest thing ever, it had some genuine hilarious moments. Judd and Karen steal almost every scene they are in.
I finished the series today and enjoyed it quite a lot. I’m surprised that it got such negative-to-mediocre reviews. Oddly, one of the most laudatory reviews came from the Wall Street Journal of all places.
OTOH, that same review called Episode 2 (with the chimp) “dazzling” and I thought that was probably the weakest one.
I am particularly impressed with Carell’s performance as a stubborn-but-generally-competent guy trying to do the best job he can. I often find that the trickiest part of workplace comedies is portraying comedic characters who actually have a reason to be in that job in the first place. In between jokes these guys behave and talk like actual military officers, and even the stupider ones are motivated by reasonable concerns.
I give it an 8/10 and look forward to the next season.
Better than I expected. Episode 1 was the expected satire, but then in episode 2 they kicked it up into a higher gear. Quite a star studded cast, and one last look at Fred Willard.
