{"id":23783,"date":"2025-09-17T08:50:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T12:50:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T10:09:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T14:09:21","slug":"nat-geo-takes-to-the-skies-with-top-guns-the-next-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/nat-geo-takes-to-the-skies-with-top-guns-the-next-generation\/","title":{"rendered":"Nat Geo Takes to the Skies with\u00a0Top Guns: The Next Generation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Between exclusive interviews, in-cockpit cameras and dramatic cinematic aerial shots, National Geographic\u2019s Top Guns: The Next Generation<\/em>\u00a0delivers insider access into what it takes to succeed in the U.S. Navy\u2019s intensive elite strike fighter training program. The six-episode series, which launched on National Geographic yesterday and will be available on Disney+ and Hulu today, hails from the team at Rex, a Zinc Media Group label. It has its origins in a production that Karen Edwards, co-showrunner, had previously made for ITV,\u00a0Fighter Pilot: The Real Top Gun<\/em>, which followed British recruits training with the U.S. Navy. In\u00a0Top Guns: The Next Generation<\/em>, Edwards and the team, including Lana Salah as director, follow a group of American students over their last six months of training.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith that access, we got to spend time with them over a long period to build up relationships and trust,\u201d Salah says. \u201cWhen we first got there, they were a bit like, Do we trust you? They\u2019re the most intelligent people in the whole of America. You couldn\u2019t bluff them. It shows in the access and in the character development. They open up, and you get to see all these very different characters and personality types.\u201d<\/p>\n

The training program lasts about three years. The team chose to come on board in the last six months, a time that includes many key milestones, Salah says. \u201cFor the first time, they do a lot of the highly technical skills. So, strikes, dog fighting, landing on a carrier\u2014it was the first time they were doing them in a jet plane and solo. It culminates in them \u2018winging out,\u2019 which is essentially the biggest day of their lives. They then become full-fledged fighter pilots.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pilots hail from a range of different backgrounds, Salah stresses, but there are a few traits in common. \u201cThe dedication, but also a certain amount of self-belief. They are critiqued so much and pushed so hard. It\u2019s uplifting and inspiring to think about humanity and what people are capable of when they put their minds to it. They also have to have a lot of humility. Ultimately, they\u2019re on their own up in the air, but the camaraderie and teamwork are really important. They\u2019re supporting each other the whole way. They do rely on each other. When they go up in formation, they have to trust their wingmen completely.\u201d<\/p>\n

The stunning aerial shots bring the audience directly into the action. \u201cNat Geo recognized right from the beginning that we would need to spend a lot of money getting some amazing aerial shots,\u201d Salah says. \u201cWe had that ring-fenced. We had cameras inside the jet. Even though they were GoPros, the footage still looks amazing. We had to go through a very long process with the U.S. Navy. They have a science and technical team that designs and tests everything that goes anywhere near a plane. That was at a huge cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

The aerial shots were filmed in two locations, with a week spent in each one. \u201cWe used the aerial stunt pilot and cinematographer who did\u00a0Top Gun: Maverick<\/em>. They rigged up their own fighter jets. The jets are traveling at 500 miles an hour. They also have the experience of working with jet planes and filming from helicopters.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team filmed instructors in the air, not students, at the request of the U.S. Navy. The footage captured includes practice target strikes in the desert near San Diego.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were trying to get these shots where we chased the plane as they were dive bombing. Going towards the ground at such speed is like pouring concrete through the gimbal and the camera\u2014it\u2019s so much pressure. The gimbal kept breaking. We were trying to get this one shot that we knew would be really cool, chasing the plane down with the target [in view]. We managed to get the shot just before the gimbal completely broke, and then that was it. The aerial shots make it feel like a drama\u2014cinematic and exciting\u2014but at the same time, you get to walk in the shoes of the students. I wanted it to feel intimate. It\u2019s very intricate storytelling. That was the edit work\u2014to make people feel like it was an easy watch in that sense, but also thrilling, warm and intimate.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lana Salah, director of Top Guns: The Next Generation, talks to World Screen Newsflash about the new National Geographic series, which takes audiences inside the U.S. Navy\u2019s elite strike fighter training program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":23791,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,69],"tags":[7649,1009,6133,11630,2533],"class_list":["post-23783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","tag-lana-salah","tag-national-geographic","tag-rex","tag-top-guns-the-next-generation","tag-zinc-media-group","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nNat Geo Takes to the Skies with\u00a0Top Guns: The Next Generation - TVREAL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/nat-geo-takes-to-the-skies-with-top-guns-the-next-generation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nat Geo Takes to the Skies with\u00a0Top Guns: The Next Generation - TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lana Salah, director of Top Guns: The Next Generation, talks to World Screen Newsflash about the new National Geographic series, which takes audiences inside the U.S. Navy\u2019s elite strike fighter training program.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/nat-geo-takes-to-the-skies-with-top-guns-the-next-generation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-17T12:50:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-22T14:09:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/09\/NG_TOPGUNS_KeyArt_16X9.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/nat-geo-takes-to-the-skies-with-top-guns-the-next-generation\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/nat-geo-takes-to-the-skies-with-top-guns-the-next-generation\/\",\"name\":\"Nat Geo Takes to the Skies with\u00a0Top Guns: The Next Generation - TVREAL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-17T12:50:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-22T14:09:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/nat-geo-takes-to-the-skies-with-top-guns-the-next-generation\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/nat-geo-takes-to-the-skies-with-top-guns-the-next-generation\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/nat-geo-takes-to-the-skies-with-top-guns-the-next-generation\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Nat Geo Takes to the Skies with\u00a0Top Guns: The Next Generation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\",\"name\":\"TVREAL\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\",\"name\":\"Mansha Daswani\",\"description\":\"Mansha Daswani is the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of World Screen. 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