At the height of the Cold War in 1959, the Soviet Union was dominating the space race which is why the U.S. government conceived NASA's Project Mercury that ended up creating the country's first astronauts. The author Tom Wolfe encapsulated this moment in American history in his 1979 novel "The Right Stuff" and now National Geographic has adapted it into a new original scripted series.
The Right Stuff is an eight-episode scripted series which gives viewers an inside look at what would become America's first reality show as a handful of the military's most accomplished test pilots competed for a chance to be the first US citizens to travel to space.
Revered test pilot Major John Glenn (played by Patrick J. Adams) and one of the best test pilots in navy history Lieutenant Commander Alan Shepard are the two pilots at the center of The Right Stuff's story that tells the tale of the Mercury Seven. The rest of the Mercury Seven includes Lieutenant Gordon Cooper (Colin O'Donoghue), Wally Schirra (Aaron Staton), Scott Carpenter (James Lafferty), Deke Slayton (Micah Stock) and Gus Grissom (Michael Trotter).
At the time, the nation's best engineers estimated that it would take several decades to send astronauts into outer space. However, NASA gave the Mercury Seven just two years to accomplish the heroic feat. The Right Stuff also follows the space program's engineers as they work against the clock to meet the demands of Washington and the American people who are transfixed with Project Mercury's astronauts.
Whether you're a fan of Tom Wolfe's novel or Phillip Kaufman's 1983 film of the same name, we'll show you how to watch the new original series The Right Stuff online from anywhere in the world.
The Right Stuff - Where and when?
The first two episodes of The Right Stuff will premiere on Disney Plus on Friday, October 9th. There will be a total of eight episodes in the new original series and new episodes will air every Friday.
How to watch The Right Stuff in the U. S.
If you live in the US and already have a subscription to Disney Plus, you'll be able to watch The Right Stuff when it premieres on Friday, October 9th and new episodes of the show will be made available weekly.
However, if you haven't signed up for Disney Plus yet, the streaming service costs $12.99 per month or $69.99 for the year. There's also a Disney+ Bundle available that gives you access to Disney Plus along with Hulu and ESPN+ for the same price. Disney even offers a free 7-day trial to its streaming service so you can test it out for yourself.
It's also worth noting that Verizon Wireless is offering customers with 4G LTE and 5G unlimited plans as well as those who sign up for its Fios internet at home, a free year of access to Disney+.
Live stream The Right Stuff in the UK, Canada and Australia
As National Geographic's The Right Stuff is a Disney Plus original series, it will be available in all of the countries that Disney Plus has launched in so far. This means that viewers in the UK, Canada and Australia will be able to watch the show with a subscription to Disney Plus when it premieres on Friday, October 9.
While the service offers the same content with slight variations depending on country, the pricing does change somewhat from region to region. Disney Plus costs £5.99 per month or £59.99 for the year in the UK, $8.99 per month or $89.99 for the year in Canada and $8.99 per month or $89.99 for the year in Australia. Check out our Disney Plus Price guide for all the latest info on Disney's streaming service.
