Netflix’s upcoming workplace comedy,Space Forcehas picked up some more cast members. Noah Emmerich (The Americans,The Spy), Jessica St. Clair (American Housewife,Playing House) and the prolific Fred Willard (Modern Family,Anchorman) are joining the comedy series fromThe Officeleading man Steve Carell andThe OfficeandParks and Recreationcreator Greg Daniels.
Space Forcefollows the people responsible for establishing a “a sixth branch of the armed services… Space Force”. The newly announced trio will be joining a quickly growing cast lead by Steve Carell as Mark R. Naird, a General tasked by the White House to get American “boots on the Moon by 2024,” as well as John Malkovich, Ben Schwartz, Diana Silvers and Tawny Newsome. Jimmy O. Yang, Alex Sparrow and Don Lake are among the other recurring cast members previously announced.
The traditionally dramatic actor,Noah Emmerich, is joining the mix as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force and Mark’s (Steve Carell) former boss, Kick Grabaston. Emmerich’s character is resentful at Mark’s position at the head of the Space Force, so he makes it his mission to “dominate and undermine Mark” at every turn, setting up guaranteed hilarity from both actors. Emmerich recently co-starred opposite boundary-pushing Sacha Baron Cohen in the limited seriesThe Spy, also from Netflix. He was also featured in the Nat Geo limited seriesThe Hot Zonewith Julianna Margulies.
The always hilarious Willard is joining the series as Mark’s (Carell) father, Fred Naird. Willard tends to steal scenes by being the aloof straight-man or the commanding leader that just isn’t all that aware of his own ridiculousness. He’s appeared in guest roles on a slew of comedy series includingModern Family,New Girl,The Odd Couple, evenCommunityas the alternate universe Pierce. Fred Nair’s character description seems right up his alley.
“Sharp as a tack but frail, Fred is caring for his senile wife and starting to make bad decisions, such as crawling under his house to check the pipes without telling anyone.”
Having shared the screen with the likes ofKristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Keagan Michael Key, St. Clair is no stranger to comedy. She currently holds a recurring position onAmerican Housewifeand has made brief appearances inArrested Development,Grace and FrankieandPortlandia. Now, she is set to play Kelly King, a civilian contractor who’s hired to help Mark build a base in Colorado. She also “hates incompetence and children for the same reason.”
Carell and Daniels have united once again, this time as co-creators and executive producers with 3 Arts' Howard Klein. Together, they’ve managed to make magic before, creating one of the most successful and zeitgeist-infusing sitcoms of all time andSpace Forceis lining up to replace that viewership-grabbingThe Officewhen it leavesNetflixfor NBC Universal’s upcoming streaming platform Peacock in 2021. Because of this, Netlflix is likely to put forth a big marketing push for the workplace comedy which is set to premiere sometime in 2020. This news comes to us fromDeadline
