What a week for releases! This week I'm taking a trip back in time with Linkin Park and blasting off to space with Irish actor Colin O'Donoghue.
First up, Disney+ launch another original series in the form of The Right Stuff, which begins its two-episode premiere on the platform today.
Based on the bestselling book by Tom Wolfe, which was previously adapted into a film in 1983 with Ed Harris and Dennis Quaid, the eight-episode season takes a look at the early days of the U.S. Space Program and America’s first astronauts, the Mercury 7.
Just a quick glance at some of the names behind the series will immediately get you interested, including Leonardo DiCaprio who produced the series for National Geographic. The Right Stuff takes a warts and all look at what was essentially America’s first reality show, a group of everyday men and women who became instant celebrities in a hurricane of money and fame.
Our very own Colin O’Donoghue (The Clinic, Once Upon A Time) portrays Gordon 'Gordo’ Cooper, the youngest astronaut who is trying to focus on the mission while his personal life crumbles around him.
Speaking of the role Colin told me how he was thrust into the project last minute but it very quickly became of the best experiences he had ever had on a set.
"We still have zoom calls! We shot it in Orlando, we really did become a family. We had all left our respective families and its just the most unbelievable cast and an incredible group of people. I came in very last minute, they were so accepting of bringing me in and letting me be part of what they’d already built."
The series has the potential to look at a number of different timelines in futures series and I'm sure it will have you looking up at the stars late into the evening...
When I asked Colin if he would ever want to break our planet’s atmosphere and travel to space himself one day he was confidently on board.
"I think I would. I wouldn’t want to go up in 1959! I also wouldn’t want any responsibility!’
From historic moments in space travel to an iconic moment in music. Released in October 2000, Linkin Park’s debut album Hybrid Theory broke barriers in incorporating alternative rock, hip-hop and electronic sounds, and is considered by many as a catalyst for creating a whole new genre.
Linkin Park inspired a generation of dedicated fans and future musicians and now they’re celebrating the album’s influence with a special 20th-anniversary edition being released today.
As well as the iconic album, the band have packaged up 5 CDs of unreleased material, 4 LPs, and 3 DVDs- plus an 80-page book, poster, 3 lithographs, replica tour laminate, a cassette sampler and an option to download everything digitally.
With such a huge enduring legacy - the album literally impacting millions of peoples lives including their own - vocalist Mike Shinoda didn’t hesitate in answering me when I asked what made him most proud about their time together.
"The longevity. That was always the goal or an idea we had, making an album that was timeless.
"Albums by Pink Floyd, Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, albums that were influential when they were made and for some reason were still influential years if not decades later.
"To sit here with you and celebrate Hybrid Theory 20, kids that are picking up their guitar and learning their first song and learning Papercut - that is crazy to me."
Not only is the album a celebration of the music, but also of the late vocalist Chester Bennington who sadly passed away in 2017.
Speaking of the moment they first heard Chester sing the band said they got a recording of his voice and knew he needed to join the band
"He sent us this recording. We heard it and, not crying with joy, but almost, just being like wow. This is so vulnerable. It just blew my hat off my head and I said we have to meet this guy."
You can catch my interviews with both Colin and Linkin Park this weekend on 2fm.
The Stephen Byrne Show on RTÉ 2fm, Saturday and Sunday from 3pm
