3…2….1…Blast off! In collaboration with National Geographic, Disney has announced a new series called The Right Stuff which will premiere on October 9.
The series tells the incredible story of America’s first astronauts based on the bestselling book by Tom Wolfe.
The eight-episode season is an inspirational look at the early days of the U.S. Space Program and the iconic story of America’s first astronauts, the Mercury 7.
It will take a clear-eyed look at America’s first “reality show,” when ambitious astronauts and their families became instant celebrities in a competition of money, fame and immortality.
The series stars Patrick J. Adams, Jake McDorman, Colin O’Donoghue, James Lafferty, Aaron Staton, Michael Trotter and Micah Stock as America’s First Astronauts.
Set in 1959, at the height of the Cold War, America fears it is a nation in decline as the Soviet Union dominates the space race.
But the US has an idea — put a man in space.
Newly-formed NASA is given the monumental task, and a group of the nation’s best engineers estimate they’ll need decades to accomplish the feat…but they only have two years.
The story will follow NASA engineers, including rocket scientist Bob Gilruth (Patrick Fischler) and the passionate Chris Kraft (Eric Ladin), who work against the clock under mounting pressure from Washington.
Together, they hand-select seven astronauts from a pool of military test pilots. These are ordinary men, plucked from obscurity, and within days of being presented to the world, they are forged into heroes before they achieve a single heroic act.
The two men at the centre of it all are Major John Glenn (Adams), a revered Marine test pilot and committed family man, and Lieutenant Commander Alan Shepard ( McDorman), one of the best test pilots in Navy history. Other members of the Mercury 7 include Captain Gordo Cooper (O’Donoghue), the youngest of the seven selected to everyone’s surprise; Wally Schirra (Staton), a competitive pilot with a gift for pulling pranks; Scott Carpenter (Lafferty), dubbed “The Poet” by the other astronauts; Deke Slayton, (Stock), a taciturn but incredibly intelligent pilot and engineer; and Gus Grissom, (Michael Trotter), a decorated military veteran who eventually becomes the second man in space.
The series also examines the astronauts’ families, including Annie Glenn (Nora Zehetner), who contends with a speech impairment in the public eye; Louise Shepard (Shannon Lucio), a wife and mother who refuses to let Alan’s transgressions affect her home; and Trudy Cooper (Eloise Mumford), an accomplished pilot who puts her own ambitions aside to present the image of a happy family.
Leonardo DiCaprio served as an executive producer alongside Jennifer Davisson and showrunner, Mark Lafferty.
The series follows the 1993 film of the same name starring Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris and Dennis Quaid.
WATCH: The official trailer for Disney+ The Right Stuff.
https://youtu.be/Og0htvEVqJQ