National Geographic has greenlit a new docuseries that will go inside one of the U.S. Navy’s most demanding training and selection programs.
“Top Gun: The Next Generation” (working title) will follow a diverse group of student pilots as they train to become fighter pilots in the Advanced Flight Training Program. The group will embark on some of the most challenging flight tests, including landing on an aircraft carrier at sea.
“The elite nature of the course means that only a minority – the very best – will make it to the top to fly the world’s most advanced jet – the F-35C Lightning II,” the network said in a news release. “This first-time access will allow the series to follow the prospective naval aviators every step of the way – in the air, in the classroom, off-base and at home – as we discover who’s got what it takes to make it to the F-35C.”
The series will feature aerial sequences as well as intimate moments with the pilots that reveal their emotions about the experience and the immense pressure they face.
The docuseries will be produced for National Geographic by Rex, a Zinc Media label. The series is created by showrunner Karen Edwards, directed by Lana Salah and executive produced by Zinc Television managing director Tanya Shaw.
“The intimate access we have gained to the characters and the emotional character-led story arcs that run through the series will paint a vivid, compelling narrative around the young men and women embarking on this highly stressful process,” Shaw said in a statement. “That narrative will elevate the series beyond the noise and spectacle of fighter jets to tell the tense, nuanced and poignant human stories behind the public-facing bravado. This is a unique project and we are thrilled to be bringing it to viewers.”
The production follows the box office buzz for 2022’s Tom Cruise-led “Top Gun: Maverick,” which grossed $1.5 billion worldwide.
“With so many millions of fans of the film around the world, I was immediately drawn to this series – these elite jet pilots are not only extremely accomplished and impressive, but all have very different stories to tell,” National Geographic executive vice president of Global Factual and Unscripted Content Tom McDonald said in a statement. “With Nat Geo’s exclusive unprecedented inside access, this series promises to be an exhilarating, visually jaw-dropping and fascinating journey into the intensely competitive world of elite flying.”
