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Steve Carell hilariously crashes and burns in first trailer for Netflix's 'Space Force'

By Josh Weiss
Steve Carrell Space Force

In the first trailer for Netflix's Space Force, Steve Carell achieves comedy liftoff by returning to the tried and true workplace format that made him a mega-star in NBC's The Office.

He plays Mark R. Naird, a celebrated four-star general with dreams of being named head of the Air Force. Instead, he's given the position of quite literally getting the president's joke-worthy dream of a sixth branch of the Armed Forces, the eponymous Space Force, off the ground. The government program, set at a remote military base in Colorado, soon becomes a "certifiable sh**show."

All laughs (especially those resulting from Naird blowing up a prototype that costs as much as four middle schools) are sure to leave you somewhere in the stratosphere.

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Breaking out into a Beach Boys classic from the late '80s, the trailer does a nice job of setting up a bunch of the main players aside from Mark. For example, we also meet Dr. Adrian Mallory (John Malkovich), the mission's head science advisor, who firmly believes that space should be a place of wide-eyed wonder, not one of war. He's got a point, and we're sure that'll create some quality conflict throughout the story. After all, the main draw of the premise is how a seasoned vet like Naird reacts to a world that takes him totally out of his element.

Space Force co-stars Lisa Kudrow (Maggie, Mark's wife), Diana Silvers (Erin, Mark's rebellious daughter), Ben Schwartz (F. Tony Scarapiducci, a self-centered media consultant), Noah Emmerich (General Kick Grabaston), Jimmy O. Yang (Dr. Chan Kaifang), John Blandsmith (Dan Bakkedahl), Tawny Newsome (Angela Ali), Don Lake (Brad Gregory), Roy Wood Jr., Jane Lynch, Fred Willard, Patrick Warburton, and Diedrich Bader.

Space Force key art

Carell created the new series with fellow The Office alum Greg Daniels. Both are attached as executive producers, while the latter serves as showrunner.

"We wanted to make sure that we were being accurate and more than respectful — I would say complimentary — of the military virtues that Steve’s character holds," Daniels said in a brief Q&A with Netflix. "We have astronaut advisors, science advisors, and our military advisor, Mark Vazquez, has been very useful in teaching us about military behavior. Both Steve and I have relatives in the military who we love and respect, and hope are going to enjoy watching the show."

Season 1 of Space Force heads for the unknown Friday, May 29.