Our first looks at Netflix’s riff on the distinctly very not funny reality of the U.S. government wanting to establish a military branch dedicated to Star Trek riffs and super-duper missiles leaned heavily into the absurdity of its premise. This latest trailer for Space Force goes beyond that to show the human struggles and conflicts at play…but only a little.
Netflix’s new trailer for Space Force is essentially an extended version of the recently released teaser. You still get all the goofy antics that feel a little less funny when the President of the United States is unfurling flags and gleefully talking about space weapons as tens of thousands of citizens succumb to a global pandemic, but you also get a little more of the interpersonal conflicts and office politics you’d expect out of a show from, well, the people who made The Office.
It’s not particularly in-depth—Steve Carrell’s General Naird is a straight-edge military man but secretly cares about his family! He’s gonna have to work with the zany science guy (played by John Malkovich) to get through this even though they have very different approaches to why the U.S. should be expanding into space! These are the kinds of tropes we’ve seen played out many times before, but the focus here beyond the “Haha, isn’t the Space Force a silly idea” helps give Space Force a little more heart than its half-hearted jabs at the current comedy that is the year 2020.
Space Force enters Netflix’s atmosphere on May 29.