Panned by critics, Netflix’s Space Force finds a happy audience in China

The new comedy is getting glowing reviews on Douban, but some see it as propaganda painting China as a threat

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Steve Carell plays a four-star general who heads the newly established Space Force. (Picture: Space Force/Twitter)

Xinmei Shen

Published: 9:05pm, 9 Jun 2020

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

For many TV critics, the new Netflix comedy Space Force isn’t all that comedic. But in China, where Netflix is unavailable, many people are finding ways to watch the show -- and they find it entertaining. Or at least they do when they’re not being offended by it.

(Beware: Space Force spoilers ahead.)

Space Force was created by Steve Carell and Greg Daniels, former showrunner for the hit sitcom The Office. Carell plays General Mark Naird, a character tasked with leading a new branch of the US military. The mission of the Space Force, given by an unnamed president who governs by tweeting, is to put “boots on the moon.”

While many viewers in the US also seem to have enjoyed the show based on ratings online, professional critics have widely panned it. It’s been called “the year’s biggest TV disappointment” and “astonishingly bad.” Viewers have been kinder, giving the show a 77% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

In China, where many viewers have turned to pirated episodes, people seem to be giving the show even more love. It has an 8.0 rating on review site Douban based on more than 5,600 user reviews.