Following the success of Tom Cruise's Top Gun: Maverick last year, National Geographic has commissioned a new reality documentary series, Top Gun: The Next Generation, which will follow a group of student pilots to see who make it through the American navy's gruelling fighter jet training programme.
With the working title Top Gun: The Next Generation, National Geographic (DStv 181 / StarSat 220) will venture inside the United States Navy's challenging training and selection programme for fighter jet pilots, following the rigorous tests and students trying to pass the Advanced Flight Training Programme.
According to National Geographic, the group of student pilots 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".
"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."
Top Gun: The Next Generation 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, with 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," Tanya Shaw says in the announcement 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."
Tom McDonald, National Geographic's executive vice president of global factual and unscripted content, says "With so many millions of fans of the film Top Gun 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".
"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."