This fall, audiences will discover the true story behind NASA’s Mercury 7 team of astronauts as The Right Stuff comes to Disney+. The eight-episode series launches on October 9th with a special two-episode premiere.
What’s Happening:
- Disney+ and National Geographic have released the official trailer for original series The Right Stuff.
- Along with giving audiences a glimpse at the incredible story of America’s first astronauts, the streaming platform announced a two-episode premiere slated for Friday, October 9.
- The Right Stuff is based on the bestselling book by Tom Wolfe, and will be told across eight episodes exploring the early days of the U.S. Space Program and the iconic story of America’s first astronauts, the Mercury 7.
- The series is produced for National Geographic by Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way and Warner Bros. Television.
About the Series:
- Set during a time when many wondered whether America’s glory days were behind it, The Right Stuff is an aspirational story about ambition and exploration and how ordinary human beings can achieve the extraordinary.
Synopsis:
- “At the height of the Cold War in 1959, America fears it is a nation in decline as the Soviet Union dominates the space race. But, the U.S. government has a solution – 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. NASA engineers 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.”
Cast
- Patrick J. Adams as Major John Glenn
- Jake McDorman as Lieutenant Commander Alan Shepard
- Colin O’Donoghue as Captain Gordo Cooper
- Aaron Staton as Wally Schirra
- James Lafferty as Scott Carpenter
- Micah Stock as Deke Slayton
- Michael Trotter as Gus Grissom
- Nora Zehetner as Annie Glenn
- Shannon Lucio as Louise Shepard
- Eloise Mumford as Trudy Cooper
- Patrick Fischler as Bob Gilruth
- Eric Ladin as Chris Kraft
Creative Team:
- Showrunner and Executive Producer:
- Mark Lafferty (Castle Rock, Halt and Catch Fire)
- Executive producer
- Jennifer Davisson
- Leonardo DiCaprio (Appian Way)
- Will Staples (Animals, Shooter)
- Danny Strong (Empire, The Hunger Games movies, Game Change)
- Howard Korder (Boardwalk Empire)
- Director and Executive Producer for first episode:
- Chris Long (The Americans, The Mentalist)
- Consulting producer:
- Thelma Schoonmaker (Raging Bull, GoodFellas, The Departed)
- Michael Hampton shepherded this project on behalf of Appian Way and is co-producer.
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