Steve Carell to Star in Netflix Comedy Based on Donald Trump's 'Space Force'

Those anxiously awaiting to see what President Donald Trump's promised space force will bring [...]

By Libby Birk

Those anxiously awaiting to see what President Donald Trump's promised space force will bring won't have to wait much longer.

Netflix is reuniting The Office star Steve Carell and showrunner Greg Daniels for a series inspired by Trump's idea for a space force as the sixth branch of the military.

The streaming service announced a straight-to-series order on Wednesday for Space Force, co-created by Carell and Daniels. Carell will also star in the series, which is being described as a workplace comedy centered around the people tasked with creating a sixth branch of the armed services.

Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that the idea for the series was sparked by Trump's June announcement to establish a military branch for space.

Daniels and Carell will also co-executive produce alongside 3 Arts' Howard Klein, who also worked on The Office.

In a teaser for the series released by Netflix, which you can watch below, fans get a glimpse into what to expect: "On June 18, 2018 the federal government announced the creation of a 6th major division of the United States armed forces," the promo read. "The goal of the new branch is 'to defend satellites form attack' and 'perform other space-related tasks' or something. This is the story of the men and women who have to figure it out."

While no episode count has been determined, as no scripts have reportedly been written, sources say that Netflix aggressively pursued the project after hearing Carell was ready to return to series-regular television. Sources say his salary, which includes co-creator and executive producer fees, sets a new record for talent, likely topping the $1 million per episode checks that cast members from CBS' The Big Bang Theory received.

Space Force is Carell's first long-term foray into TV since he wrapped seven seasons on The Office as hapless boss Michael Scott. He has since starred in several films and is currently in Beautiful Boy, Vice and Welcome to Marwen, although he did sign on as the male lead in Apple's morning show drama that also stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. However, sources note that Carell's deal with that show is just for one year and that he is said to be credited as a "special guest star."

Daniels, who developed the U.K. version of The Office for NBC, is working on Amazon's sci-fi romantic satire Upload, where he serves as showrunner and executive producer alongside Klein.

There is no official word on when Space Force will be released; Netflix billed it as "coming soon" in the teaser released Wednesday.

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