How President Trump Inspired Steve Carrell's New Netflix Original Series 'Space Force'

In an upcoming Netflix show, Steve Carell stars as Mark Naird, a four-star general who is now in charge of running a new U.S. military branch. The series “Space Force” adds some humor to a real-world decision made by President Donald Trump.

In December 2019, the president signed a $738 billion defense spending bill officially creating the Space Force, NPR reports.

"It's about, you know, all the different types of missions our military already does in space — just making sure that we're doing them more effectively, more efficiently," said Todd Harrison, who directs the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. "It will create a centralized, unified chain of command that is responsible for space, because ultimately when responsibility is fragmented, no one's responsible."

The Space Force is the sixth branch of the U.S. Armed Services. Furthermore, it was the first military branch to be created since the Air Force in 1947.

"Space is the world's newest war-fighting domain," President Trump said during the signing ceremony. "Amid grave threats to our national security, American superiority in space is absolutely vital. And we're leading, but we're not leading by enough. But very shortly we'll be leading by a lot."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Carell’s lead character is working with a group of scientists out of a secret Colorado base. Their mission? The president has ordered them to get “boots on the moon” with the purpose of dominating space.

As Entertainment Weekly reports, the show, which was created by Carell and his former “The Office” boss, Greg Daniels, also has a pretty great cast. Among those with recurring roles in the series is “Friends” star Lisa Kudrow, who will play Maggie, the loyal wife of General Naird. Others include Noah Emmerich, Ben Schwartz, John Malkovich, Tawny Newsome, Jimmy O. Yang, and Fred Willard, as well as Diana Silvers, Alex Sparrow and Don Lake.

Space Force will be available to stream on Netflix on May 29.