When Steve Carell leftThe Office, many missed the actor’s antics as Michael Scott, as other mockumentary shows likeParks and Recreationdidn’t quite fill the gap. However, in 2020, Steve Carell’s workplace comedySpace Forcelooked like an interesting contender for the well-loved sitcom. Following a group tasked with establishing the United States Space Force,Space Forcehad a brilliant cast, including the likes of Steve Carell, John Malkovich, and Ben Schwartz. As a result, the American comedy series was set up to be one ofSteve Carell’s best TV showsin recent years.
Space Forceaired on Netflix for two seasons during the height of the pandemic, with its second premiering in 2022, but was unfortunately canceled in April of the same year. This was surprising considering the show had many big names in the comedy genre attached to the project, includingThe Office’sshowrunner Greg Daniels. While there were a number ofreasons why Steve Carell’sSpace Forcewas canceledafter just two seasons, the most prominentreasons for the show’s downfall were the recycling of outdated comedy seen inThe Office, as well as an overreliance on Steve Carell’s performance.
Space Force’s Supporting Characters Were Not As Great As The Ones In The Office
The Office Provided Comedic Characters For Steve Carell To Bounce Off
The problem withSpace Forcewas that the supporting characters were simply not that great, and they did not live up to the ones seen inThe Office. WhileThe Officehad plenty of standout characters, each with their own personalities and humour,Space Forcelacked that variety and relied on Carell’s performance for a lot of its comedy.Supporting characters in TV showslikeSpace ForceandThe Officeare crucial to helping set up the comedy of their lead characters, and while Steve Carell was great as General Mark R. Naird, the other characters inSpace Forcefelt lacking.
Compared toThe Office,the supporting characters inSpace Forcewere bland even though the cast was brilliant. For example, Ben Schwartz was a particularly notable character onParks and Recreation, and he brought comedy to the show through his character’s appearance alone. However,Space Forcesuffers in this department, leaving Carell’s performance falling flat.The Office’sunique characters and varied cast allowed Steve Carell to have a lot of fun as Michael Scott, especially in terms of improvisation, which contributed to the show’s notoriety. Unfortunately for Netflix’sSpace Force, the show just couldn’t match that same energy.
Space Force Didn’t Live Up To How Good Its Cast & Production Value Was
The Visuals In Space Force Looked Great
The most disappointing element ofSpace Forceis that it looked great, but the show itself didn’t live up to its cast or production value. Throughout the 2010s, Netflix gained a bit of a reputation forbig budget shows that failedin their reception, with shows likeHemlock GroveandMarco Polo. Therefore, it is surprising to see the same mistakes happen forSpace Forcein 2020.Space Forcehad a rather large practical set that looked authentic for a US building due to its details, proving its high production value, as can be seen in Netflix’s set tour below:
Some have suggested thatSpace Forceis aTV show that would have worked better as a moviedue to its set up. Originally playing on a joke that Donald Trump’s space force idea was never going to last, it is rather ironic thatSpace Forcealsodidn’tlast very long, and it eventually would have become culturally irrelevant. Instead,Space Forceshould have utilized its fantastic visuals and brilliant cast in a movie, which would have allowed for a more concise script and focused on supporting characters, to truly bring out the same comedy asThe Office.
