The Right Stuff Moves to Disney+ and Gets Fall 2020 Premiere

Nat Geo’s upcoming series, The Right Stuff will get a Disney Plus release. This will be National Geographic’s first original.

The Right Stuff dives into the lives of the Mercury Seven. These seven individuals were part of NASA’s Project Mercury that was created to surpass the Soviet Union in the space race.

According to Deadline, the series adapts Tom Wolfe’s nonfiction book of the same name. Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way and Warner Horizon Scripted Television produced the series.

Here is the synopsis:

Astronauts and their families become instant celebrities in a competition that will either kill them or make them immortal in the quest to be a part of Project Mercury.

Seven of the military’s most experienced test pilots are picked for the project. The nation’s top engineers estimate it’ll take decades to reach outer space; they’re given two years.

Disney Plus released a clip for a closer look at the new series:

Deadline says the series will have eight one hour long episodes and will focus on the lives of all seven men. Major John Glenn (Patrick J. Adams) and Lieutenant Commander Alan Shepard (Jake McDorman) at the center of the series.

The other members of the Mercury Seven:

• Lieutenant Gordon Cooper: The youngest part of the team, portrayed by actor Colin O’Donoghue.
• Wally Schirra: A competitive pilot, loves to pull pranks. He is played by Aaron Staton.
• Scott Carpenter: “The Poet” of the team. Played by James Lafferty.
• Deke Slayton: A quiet but intelligent pilot and engineer. Portrayed by Micah Stock.
• Gus Grissom: A test pilot, takes no nonsense, eventually becomes the second man in space. He is played by actor Michael Trotter.

Other key cast members are Nora Zehetner as Annie Glenn, Shannon Lucio as Louise Shepard, and Eloise Mumford as Trudy Cooper.

According to Deadline, the book will be used as the starting point for the show, the show will have a mission for each season, and that will eventually lead to the first man on the moon.