‘Space Force’: Netflix Renews Steve Carell Series for Season 2, Shifts Production

Netflix renewed the new Steve Carell sitcom Space Force for a second season, but there will be some major changes. The show will be moving to Vancouver to help keep costs down and a new showrunner is joining the series’ creator, The Office and King of the Hill creator Greg Daniels. Space Force is a workplace comedy with Carell starring as the first Chief of Space Operations for the U.S. Space Force.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the first season of the show was filmed in Los Angeles but will move to Vancouver for Season 2. Filming will start next year, but no specific date has been set. Norm Hiscock also joined the show to serve as co-showrunner with Daniels. He previously worked on King of the Hill, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Parks and Recreation, and People of Earth. Actor Jimmy O. Yang, who plays Dr. Chan Kaifang, was added to the writers’ room.

Sources told THR the production hopes adding Hiscock will help the show “grow creatively and better connect with viewers and critics,” just as The Office did better with fans and critics after its first season. Although Netflix had high hopes for the show, its first season received a mixed response from critics. The show was only nominated for four Primetime Emmys in the technical categories of production design, stunt coordination, sound editing, and sound mixing.

Space Force was inspired by President Donald Trump’s real-life decision to establish a sixth military branch focused on Space. Carell created the show with Daniels. Since The Office remains one of Netflix’s most popular acquired shows, the streamer jumped at the chance of having a new show starring Carell and ordered it straight to series in January 2019. Carell was reportedly paid $1 million per episode due to his multiple roles, including co-creator, actor, and executive producer. The show’s main cast also includes John Malkovich, Ben Schwartz, Diana Silvers, and Tawny Newsome.

In a THR interview in May, Yang compared the series to “The Office that’s shot like a $100 million Marvel [movie].” Daniels also described the show’s lofty visual ambitions. “This is a much more cinematic, big-scope show, but you know I think that they will recognize the sense of humor that’s behind things. And maybe the sort of spirit of an approach to human beings,” he said.

Space Force isn’t the only project Daniels launched this year. He also developed his passion project Upload, which launched on Amazon in May. The series earned critical acclaim and was quickly picked up for a second season. The series is set in a future world where humans can “upload” themselves into a virtual afterlife and stars Robbie Amell and Andy Allo.