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The Right Stuff (TV series)

The Right Stuff is an American historical drama limited television series, loosely based on the 1979 book of the same name by Tom Wolfe and its 1983 film adaptation, that premiered on October 9, 2020, on Disney+. It is the third installment in the titular franchise. It explores the origins and growth of the United States' space program. On April 3, 2021, Disney+ canceled the series due to a redesign in the NatGeo channel's focus.[1] Show financier Warner Bros. Television is looking to shop the series to other networks.[2]

The series was removed from Disney+ on May 26, 2023, amidst the Disney+ and Hulu purge.[3]

Premise

The Right Stuff takes a "gritty, anti-nostalgic look at what would become America's first reality show as the obsessive original Mercury Seven astronauts and their families become instant celebrities in a competition that will either kill them or make them immortal. The eight-part, one-hour-per-episode drama will follow the protagonists from the Mojave Desert to the edges of space, with future seasons carrying through to humankind’s greatest achievement: the moon landing."[4]

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Episodes

Production

On July 25, 2017, it was announced that National Geographic was partnering with Appian Way Productions and Warner Horizon Television to option the screen rights to Tom Wolfe's 1979 novel The Right Stuff. The series was set to be written by Will Staples who was also expected to executive produce alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson.[8]

On February 10, 2019, it was announced during the Television Critics Association's annual winter press tour that National Geographic had given the production a series order. David Nutter was expected to direct the premiere episode. Additional executive producers were set to include Mark Lafferty and Lizzie Mickery with Lafferty also serving as showrunner.[4]

The series premiered on October 9, 2020.[9] On November 20, 2020, the series was granted a tax credit to film a second season in San Diego. The show had yet to be officially renewed at the time.[10] However, on April 3, 2021, it was announced that Disney+ had canceled the series due to a change in NatGeo's programming focus.[1] Show financier Warner Bros. Television is looking to shop the series to other networks such as TNT and HBO Max.[11]

Casting

On May 31, 2019, Patrick J. Adams had been cast in the series lead role of John Glenn.[12] On June 14, 2019, Jake McDorman[13] and Colin O'Donoghue[14] were cast as Alan Shepard and Gordon Cooper, respectively. On June 21, 2019, Eric Ladin, Patrick Fischler, Nora Zehetner, Eloise Mumford, Shannon Lucio, and Josh Cooke joined the cast.[15] On August 19, 2019, Danny Strong was cast as NASA Spokesman John A. "Shorty" Powers.[16] On November 29, 2019, Mamie Gummer was cast as "Mercury 13" astronaut hopeful, Jerrie Cobb.[17]

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 55% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 7.21/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "The Right Stuff contains some grace notes in its depiction of America's first slate of astronauts, but this tired retread of Tom Wolfe's famed book mostly makes the wrong moves in revitalizing space race history for the modern era."[18] On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[19]

Richard Roeper of The Chicago Sun-Times praised the show as "a visually striking, well-acted period piece that plays like 'Mad Men: The Flyboys Edition."[20] Writing for Rolling Stone, Alan Sepinwall called the show "a dutiful, mostly competent, infrequently lively historical workplace drama" and "almost defiantly generic in every way."[21] Wall Street Journal reviewer John Anderson described the show as "a perfectly serviceable drama about a rococo period of American history."[22] Lucy Mangan of The Guardian rated the show 4 out of 5 stars and claimed that "The Right Stuff doesn’t reach for the stars, but looks back to the Earth from which the phenomenon of astronauts and space travel, the glamour and the myths grew, along with the appetites they fed, and is all the more interesting for that."[23] Matt Cabral of Common Sense Media rated the series 3 out of 5 stars and called it a "space drama" that is "serviceable but doesn't reach the stars."[24]

In Caroline Framke's review for Variety, she criticized the show as "familiar" and said it "never met a space story cliché it didn't embrace with open arms."[25] In a review for The Dispatch, Alec Dent criticized the show's choice to leave out Chuck Yeager, saying his absence "embodies the central problem of the show: those behind it don't seem to understand what the right stuff is, at least not well enough to portray it on TV."[26]

Accolades

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Low, Elaine (April 2, 2021). "Disney Plus' 'The Right Stuff' Canceled After One Season But Warner Bros. TV Shopping Series Around". Variety. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  2. ^ Leishman, Rachel (April 3, 2021). "'The Right Stuff' Is Officially the First Scripted Series Not Renewed by Disney+". Collider.
  3. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 18, 2023). "Disney Removes Dozens Of Series From Disney+ & Hulu, Including 'Big Shot', 'Willow', 'Y' & 'Dollface'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  4. ^ a b White, Peter (February 10, 2019). "Nat Geo Hands Series Order To Adaptation Of Tom Wolfe's 'The Right Stuff' From Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  5. ^ "'The Right Stuff' recap: Who is going to be first? ('Kona Kai Séance')". Collect Space. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "The Right Stuff". Writers Guild of America West. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  7. ^ "Shows A-Z - right stuff, the on disney plus". The Futon Critic. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  8. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (July 25, 2017). "Nat Geo Teams With Leonardo DiCaprio To Adapt 'The Right Stuff' As Scripted Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  9. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 20, 2020). "'The Right Stuff': Nat Geo's Mercury 7 Drama Series Gets Fall Premiere Date On Disney+ – Update". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  10. ^ "Disney 's 'The Right Stuff' to Film in San Diego For Season 2". NBC 7 San Diego. November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  11. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 3, 2021). "'The Right Stuff' Canceled By Disney+ After One Season, Shopped By Warner Bros. TV". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  12. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 31, 2019). "Patrick J. Adams To Star As John Glenn In Nat Geo Astronaut Drama Series 'The Right Stuff'". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  13. ^ lannucci, Rebecca (June 14, 2019). "The Right Stuff: Jake McDorman, GoT Alum Board Nat Geo's NASA Series". TVLine. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  14. ^ Petski, Denise (July 12, 2019). "'The Right Stuff': Colin O'Donoghue To Star In Nat Geo Series In Recasting". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  15. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (June 21, 2019). "'The Right Stuff': Eric Ladin, Patrick Fischler, Nora Zehetner, Eloise Mumford, Shannon Lucio & Josh Cooke Cast In Nat Geo Series". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  16. ^ Porter, Rick (August 19, 2019). "Danny Strong Joins Nat Geo's 'Right Stuff' Series (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  17. ^ Maas, Jennifer (November 29, 2019). "Mamie Gummer Joins Leonardo DiCaprio's Nat Geo Series 'The Right Stuff' (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  18. ^ "The Right Stuff: Season 1 (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  19. ^ "The Right Stuff: Season 1". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  20. ^ Roeper, Richard (October 9, 2020). "'The Right Stuff': New series parties with the dashing men of Mercury Seven". The Chicago Sun Times. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  21. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (October 8, 2020). "'The Right Stuff': An Iconic Space Story That Never Takes Flight". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  22. ^ Anderson, John (October 8, 2020). "'The Right Stuff' Review: A Space Race Re-Entry". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  23. ^ "The Right Stuff review – Disney dazzles with Mad Men ... in space". The Guardian. October 9, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  24. ^ "The Right Stuff TV Review | Common Sense Media". www.commonsensemedia.org. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  25. ^ Framke, Caroline (October 9, 2020). "'The Right Stuff' Is a Solid, Unremarkable Version of Space Stories Past: TV Review". Variety. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  26. ^ Dent, Alec (October 10, 2020). "'The Right Stuff' Fails to Live Up to the Legacy of the Works That Came Before". The Dispatch. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  27. ^ "'News of the World,' 'Sound of Metal' Lead Motion Picture Sound Editors Nominations". March 1, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2022.

External links