The Right Stuff historical drama series is the second adaptation of a documentary book by journalist Tom Wolfe, one of the most successful and recognizable American authors of the last century. Wolfe spent seven years collecting material for this book, talking with test pilots, astronauts, and their families. The result is a work researching the psychology of pilots and astronauts, trying to understand what drives them to take such risks.
The Right Stuff adaptation of 2020 focuses more on the rivalry between astronauts and their families' relationships.
The series's central theme is the rivalry between the optimistic John Glenn and the selfish Alan Shepard. Each of them wants to become the first person in space, and each believes that he deserves it more than others. They are ready for almost anything to be the first to go beyond the earth's atmosphere.
The film perfectly conveys the atmosphere of the 60s, the space race's mood; the main historical events are shown in the series with complete reliability, as many personal qualities of Mercury Seven astronauts and their families' difficulties.