Disney+'s 'The Right Stuff' is a space drama that inches toward liftoff a little too slowly

The Right Stuff series begins on the morning of the Mercury-Redstone 3 spaceflight at Cape Canaveral in 1961. We see astronauts John Glenn (Patrick J. Adams) and Alan Shepard (Jake McDorman) eating a tension-filled breakfast together, people gathering in groups to watch the launch, and the spacecraft rumbling seconds before liftoff.

Then, the screen cuts to two years earlier, and we meet the hopefuls who will eventually train to be sent into the stars. We spend the rest of the next five episodes (the number provided to critics) waiting to get back to that big lift-off. While the episodes are made up of strong elements, including a charismatic cast, a classy period setting, and smooth shots, I couldn't help but feel that I was still waiting for the show to liftoff several episodes in.

The Right Stuff is the third original scripted drama to join Disney+, following The Mandalorian and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Produced by Appian Way and Warner Bros. Television and distributed under the National Geographic banner, it takes viewers back to the peak of the Cold War in 1959, when NASA selected a group of military test pilots to join Project Mercury — a program set on getting an American into space before the Soviet Union.

While seven men were recruited for training and a possible flight into space, the series puts its focus on a select few: the aforementioned John Glenn, a family man and Marine who tries to maintain a clean public image; Alan Shepard, a talented but cocky pilot whose constant flings with women who aren't his wife threaten to impede his professional life; and Gordo Cooper (Collin O'Donoghue), a young pilot who attempts to get his family life on track while dealing with the aftermath of a mistake that resulted in his friend's death. Though it's all positioned against the background of the space race, there's a heavy emphasis on their insecurities, fragile public images, and the brewing family issues that they must overcome. This means that their wives — Annie Glenn (Nora Zehetner), Louise Shepard (Shannon Lucio), and Trudy Cooper (Eloise Mumford) — are also featured, though to a lesser extent.

The Right Stuff is based on the 1979 nonfiction book of the same name by Tom Wolfe, which was adapted into a film in 1983. While the epic historical drama failed to recoup its budget at the box office, it was critically lauded and won four of the eight Oscars that it was nominated for. While I have not seen the original film myself, and cannot therefore directly compare the two, I can say that the early episodes of the Disney+ version left me longing for a bigger thrill.

Gordo and Trudy Cooper sit down for dinner with John and Annie Glenn. Credit: Disney+

The Right Stuff is heavy on the personal drama and light on the action, which makes it feel tedious at times. While we see Shepard attempting to push through the intensity of a spinning chair meant to simulate the feeling of space in preparation for flight, we far more often see him coaxing women into bed and recovering from the aftermath of a wild night. While we get an anxious scene of Gordo flying a plane in the first episode, there are far more of him and his wife sorting out their strained relationship. Sure, the lead characters are both layered and incredibly charming — and this helps — but with many weighty conversations and very few training scenes, the show moves slowly.

I kept hoping that The Right Stuff was building up to something that would leave me eager for the next episode. But while it was engaging at times, I was never hooked. It's missing that special zing. It does, however, offer an interesting, well-crafted setup just waiting to be expanded upon — and I am hopeful that the final episodes will set the series up for a more compelling Season 2.

Episode-to-episode, The Right Stuff feels like its offering up a lot of the same stuff: Men dealing with newfound celebrity status while sorting out their personal lives. But their storylines have yet to reach their climax, and their wives — while not the central focus — also have further personal struggles to explore.

Cooper's wife Trudy, for example, is a busy pilot-turned-housewife who is forced to wait in the shadows of her husband. (Minor spoiler alert). Five episodes in, aviator Jerrie Cobb (Mamie Gummer) tells Trudy about a group of women who are training to become astronauts. She wants to join — so Trudy proudly tells Gordo that she's going to. He supports her, and we're left hanging.

This is one of the plot lines I cared about — something that I want to see followed-through on because while we've been shown the starring astronauts' points-of-view time-and-time again through countless movies and TV shows, it's less often that we've seen the space race play out through the female perspectives of the era. Sure, The Right Stuff's source material isn't primarily about Trudy or the other women — but because they have interesting stories, too, a bigger focus on their experiences would have lightened up the more monotonous moments of the series.

And while I don't know how much screentime Trudy's story will get in the few episodes I have left to stream, I know I want more from her, even if it doesn't come until later seasons. This goes for the other wives, as well. While right now their stories exist only to complement the main narrative, I know they have a lot left to offer. I hope we get to see it.

I wish The Right Stuff had gained momentum sooner. Its opening shots at the launching grounds promised an intriguing narrative, but five episodes in, it was still struggling to take flight. However, while the series is yet to pick up speed, it doesn't change that it has a lot of the right stuff — the fundamental building blocks of a compelling story — that can turn it into a good show. What it does with this solid setup, particularly in the last few episodes, will ultimately determine whether the series lifts off or crash-lands.

The Right Stuff is streaming now on Disney+.

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