'Space Force' Might Be Set-up To Suck ...

The Office is leaving Netflix in 2021, but here to fill that void is Space Force - a workplace comedy riffing on Donald Trump's proposed sixth branch of the military. It's coming from Greg Daniels (creator of The Office) and Steve Carrel (star of The Office), and throw in some Ben Schwartz, Lisa Kudrow, and John Malkovich and, holy crap, this is definitely going to be a better version of The Office (Because it's innnnn spppaaaacee!). Right? Well ...

Look, we're rooting for this one. Nothing would make us happier than for this to leave us in a large enough laugh coma that we wake up on the other side of quarantine with big ol' Joker grins. Except for part of what made The Office so great was how relatable it was. We've all had the experience of dealing with a shit boss at a boring job. But who sitting on their couch, with some easy mac and a stained hoodie, has had the experience of performing military operations on the moon? (Maybe you can count Neil Armstrong if lunar farting qualifies as an act of aggression.)

Then you take a look at this big name, all-star cast, which on the surface seems great. But The Office didn't have big names. Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski were nobodies at the start of The Office. Steve Carrell was barely famous at the start of The Office. Hell, Phyllis was played by the casting director! And it all worked because we saw these people as real people. Space Force's cast might make it difficult for us to see anything past "Okay, so now Michael Scott, Phoebe, and Jean-Ralphio the Hedgehog are getting into some hijinks."

Then there's simply the issue of comedies, even when produced by great people, can be hit or miss. There's a reason that 90% of shows end up failing. So feel free to get excited, but also, temper your expectations, because while this might look like the next big thing, it might also shrivel into nothing. (That's what she said.)

Top Image: Aaron Epstein/Netflix