Before he was master spy Ethan Hunt in the popular series of “Mission: Impossible” films, Tom Cruise demonstrated his traits of bravado and reckless behavior in 1986’s “Top Gun” as a cocky naval aviator.
   
Cruise’s Lieutenant Pete Mitchell, known by his call sign Maverick, entered a training program at the U.S. Navy’s Fighter Weapons School where his reputation as an impulsive pilot willing to break the rules put him at odds with fellow aviators and Navy brass.

   

Almost four decades later, an even more popular sequel emerged with “Top Gun: Maverick,” and Cruise’s now-Captain Mitchell, though still flying, was now training young Top Gun graduates for a dangerous mission.
   
The idea is not far-fetched that Tom Cruise’s impetuous and foolhardy antics as a Navy fighter pilot served him well for many of the daring stunts he pulled off in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise.
   
Moreover, “Top Gun” proved to be a recruiting tool for the Navy. The image of brash rule-breaking fighter pilots may seem cool, but real-life Top Gun pilots are efficient, methodical professionals engaged in strict rules of engagement.
   
This is why National Geographic’s “Top Guns: The Next Generation,” a six-part series that will also stream on Disney+ and Hulu, takes a real-life view of what it takes for one to be an elite fighter pilot.
   
In this compelling series, the cameras follow a class of Navy and Marine Corps student pilots as they enter the final and most unforgiving phase of elite strike fighter training.
   
The grueling program is six months of high-stakes aerial training, brutal physical demands, and emotional reckoning, where only the top performers earn the chance to fly the most coveted aircraft.
  
The series goes beyond the cockpit, following ambitious young Navy and Marine students both in the air and off-base, capturing candid moments with family and friends and revealing the personal stakes, sacrifices and motivations that brought them here.
   
Filmed with unprecedented access, the series immerses audiences in a world of intense pressure and soaring expectations, where dreams of earning wings of gold collide with the harsh reality of demanding training.

From bombing drills to close-range dogfights and nail-biting aircraft carrier approaches, each episode captures the intense demands of a program that challenges their abilities, endurance, and resolve at every turn. 
   
While the emotional stakes fuel the story, the skies are where the drama hits full throttle. Outfitted with in-cockpit cameras, the series delivers a breathtaking front-row experience to capture moments of precision, panic, and hard-fought triumph as they happen.

Filmed by some of the creative talent behind the blockbuster film “Top Gun: Maverick,” the aerial sequences are cinematic and pulse-pounding, pushing the limits of what these student aviators and their aircraft may accomplish.
   
The first episode, “Strike,” finds one student’s dreams of becoming a fighter pilot put in jeopardy as the class starts advanced phase training with a set of breathtaking bombing tests.
   
Diving at speeds they’ve never faced before, students struggle with the dynamic moves and start to make high-risk mistakes. Instructors deliver tough assessments in the debriefs to keep students safe.
   
“Catching the Wire” episode follows next. Landing on an aircraft carrier demands precision flying and is a skill vital for all U.S. Navy fighter pilots.
   
As the students tackle the longest and most technical section of the Advanced Phase, they know it’s a test they must pass to keep their dreams alive. The pressure mounts on some struggling pupils, and the commanding officer issues a timely warning to one. 
   
As the students reach the midpoint of their training in “Attack Attack!,” they start the iconic dogfighting phase. Against them are seasoned instructors with hundreds of hours of real-world experience.
   
To pass, they must outmaneuver the enemy to take a “kill shot.” One student has the added pressure of flying with his Top Gun-trained commodore, while another struggles to control his aggressive instincts.
   
Entering the second and most challenging phase of dogfighting in “Fight’s On!,” apprentice pilots find everything is on the line.
   
Defensive dogfighting involves dynamic maneuvers to evade battle-hardened instructors. The physical strain proves too much for one student, while another has a crisis of confidence when past failures come back to haunt him.
   
In “Head-to-Head,” the students face their final test in an iconic head-to-head dogfight against an instructor. To pass, they must bring all the skills they’ve learned during their Advanced Phase training.
   
With graduation just days away, students start to worry about their final grades and whether they will get the posting they – and in many cases, their families – want.
   
In the appropriately-titled last episode “Last Chance,” it’s graduation week. For the remaining students, it means they have one last chance to prove they deserve their prestigious fighter pilot wings. 
   
Standing in their way is a tense head-to-head dogfight against an instructor. Past failures come back to haunt one student, and another’s whole fighter pilot future comes down to a single flight with their commanding officer. 

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.