Honestly, most people missed the boat on Other Space. It’s one of those weird, tragic blips in TV history where a genuinely brilliant piece of art got swallowed by a corporate identity crisis. If you were online in 2015, you might remember Yahoo Screen. Or, more likely, you remember it as that clunky video player that existed solely so people could watch the sixth season of Community. But tucked away next to Greendale’s finest was a low-budget, high-concept masterpiece created by Paul Feig.
Yeah, that Paul Feig. The guy behind Freaks and Geeks and Bridesmaids.
It was a sci-fi sitcom. It was goofy. It featured a cast of then-unknowns who are now basically everywhere. And then, almost as soon as it arrived, it vanished because Yahoo Screen went belly-up, taking a $42 million write-down with it.
What the Hell Was Other Space Even About?
The year is 2105. Space exploration is kind of a joke. The UMP (Universal Mapping Project) is basically the DMV of the galaxy. We follow the crew of the UMA Cruiser, led by Captain Stewart Lipinski, played by Karan Soni. You know him as Dopinder from Deadpool now, but back then, he was the ultimate "anxious overachiever."
Stewart isn't some heroic Captain Kirk figure. He’s a guy who got a spaceship because he won a literal coin toss against his much more competent sister, Karen (Bess Rous). During a routine mission to map a nebula, the crew accidentally slips through a wormhole into a different universe. A "downward" universe.
They are stuck. No map. No way home.
The ship is falling apart. The crew is a disaster. There’s a robot named A.R.T. (voiced by Trace Beaulieu of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame) who hates everyone. There’s a security officer, Zander (Eugene Cordero), who is remarkably bad at his job. And then there’s Joel Hodgson—the actual creator of MST3K—playing Zook, a burnt-out engineer who has been in space way too long and might be hallucinating half his life.
It's a workplace comedy. Just, you know, in a void where physics don't work.
The Cast Was Secretly a Powerhouse
Looking back at the credits of Other Space feels like looking at a "Before They Were Famous" mood board.
Karan Soni is the heart of the show. His frantic energy anchors the absurdity. But the breakout for many was Milana Vayntrub as Tina Shukshin. At the time, she was mostly known as "The AT&T Girl," but in this show, she proved she had world-class comedic timing. She plays the ship's navigator who is hopelessly unequipped for the existential dread of being lost in another dimension.
Then you have Eugene Cordero. If you’ve watched Loki, The Good Place, or Star Trek: Lower Decks, you’ve seen him. He brings this specific brand of "confident idiot" energy to Zander that makes every scene better.
The chemistry wasn't forced. It felt like a group of people who were genuinely annoyed by each other but realized they were the only thing standing between themselves and a cold, lonely death. That’s the secret sauce of a great sitcom. It’s the "trapped in an elevator" trope, but the elevator is a spaceship and the shaft is an infinite, hostile universe.
The Weirdness of the "Downward" Universe
One of the best things about the show was how it handled sci-fi tropes. Most low-budget shows try to hide their lack of money with dark hallways and "found footage" gimmicks. Other Space leaned into the bright, plastic, retro-futuristic aesthetic.
It used the "other space" of the title to introduce insane concepts. Like a cloud that makes you tell the truth. Or an alien race that communicates entirely through compliments. Or the fact that in this new universe, coffee is sentient and terrified of being drunk.
It was smart. It didn't talk down to the audience.
Why Did It Fail? (Spoiler: It Wasn't the Show's Fault)
The show didn't fail because it was bad. It failed because of the platform.
Yahoo Screen was a disaster. It was buggy. It was hard to find. They spent a fortune on the rights to the NFL and Community, but they didn't know how to actually build a streaming service. When Yahoo eventually shut down the division, the show just... sat there. For years, you couldn't legally watch it anywhere. It became a "lost" show.
Eventually, it found a second life on Shout! Factory and some smaller streaming platforms, but the momentum was gone. A second season was written. The cast was ready. Paul Feig wanted to do it. But the rights were a mess and the money wasn't there.
It’s a classic "cult classic" scenario. A show that was ahead of its time on a platform that was behind the curve.
The Comedy Style: Why It Sticks
The writing was fast. It didn't rely on laugh tracks or "pause for effect" moments. It was dense with jokes, many of them character-driven rather than plot-driven.
Take the relationship between Stewart and Karen. It’s a sibling rivalry played out on a galactic scale. Karen is the "right" choice for Captain, but Stewart is the "lucky" one. That resentment fuels half the plotlines. It’s relatable. Who hasn't felt like they were overlooked for a promotion by someone less qualified who just happened to be in the right place at the right time?
Then there’s the robot, A.R.T. Having Trace Beaulieu voice a cynical robot is a stroke of genius. It’s a direct nod to the MST3K legacy, which the show shares a lot of DNA with. The humor is dry, observational, and occasionally very dark.
Is Other Space Worth Watching Now?
Yes. A thousand times yes.
Even though it’s almost a decade old, the show hasn't aged a day. Because it’s set in 2105 and doesn't rely on 2015-specific pop culture references, it feels fresh. The special effects are charmingly "lo-fi," which was an intentional choice anyway.
It’s only eight episodes. You can burn through the whole thing in a single afternoon.
The tragedy of Other Space is that it feels like the beginning of something huge. The world-building in those eight episodes is better than what most shows do in three seasons. There’s a deep lore about the UMP and the state of Earth that we only get glimpses of.
Where Can You Find It?
As of 2026, the show is a bit of a nomad. It pops up on YouTube (often on the Shout! Factory TV channel), and it’s occasionally available on Tubi or Amazon Freevee. If you find it, watch it. Don't wait. These kinds of shows have a habit of disappearing back into the digital ether.
What You Should Do Next
If you’re a fan of Red Dwarf, The Orville, or Lower Decks, you owe it to yourself to track this down. Don't just take my word for it. Go find the first episode—it's called "Into the Unknown"—and watch the first ten minutes. If the interaction between Stewart and the ship's computer doesn't make you laugh, then maybe it's not for you. But it probably will.
Your Action Plan:
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- Search YouTube for "Other Space Full Episodes." Shout! Factory often keeps them up for free with ads.
- Follow the cast. See what Karan Soni and Eugene Cordero are up to now. Their success is a testament to the talent that was on this show.
- Tell a friend. Cult shows only stay alive if people talk about them. Be the person who "discovered" it for your friend group.
- Watch for Paul Feig’s updates. He still mentions the show in interviews occasionally. There’s always a 1% chance a revival could happen if the demand is there.
Seriously. Stop reading this and go find the show. It's the best half-day of television you haven't seen yet.