The Astronaut Wives Club

The Astronaut Wives Club
Genre	Period drama
Based on	The Astronaut Wives Club  by Lily Koppel
Developed by	Stephanie Savage
Starring	Joanna García Swisher Yvonne Strahovski Dominique McElligott Odette Annable Erin Cummings Azure Parsons Zoe Boyle Desmond Harrington Bret Harrison Wilson Bethel Kenneth Mitchell Joel Johnstone Sam Reid Aaron McCusker
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Stephanie Savage Josh Schwartz Len Goldstein Michael London
Running time	43 minutes
Production company(s)	ABC Studios Fake Empire Productions Groundswell Productions
Distributor	Disney–ABC Domestic Television
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	June 18 – August 20, 2015[1]
External links
Official website

The Astronaut Wives Club is an American period drama television series developed by Stephanie Savage for ABC. It is based on Lily Koppel's book of the same name.^[2] The series tells the story of the wives of the Mercury Seven—America's first group of astronauts. Actresses Dominique McElligott, Yvonne Strahovski, Joanna García Swisher, Erin Cummings, Azure Parsons, Zoe Boyle, and Odette Annable play the roles of the astronauts' wives.

The Astronaut Wives Club premiered on June 18, 2015.^[3] Following the completion of its run, the series' developer noted the series had been planned as a mini-series, telling a complete story.^[1]

Cast and characters

Regular

• JoAnna Garcia Swisher as Betty Grissom^[4][5]
• Yvonne Strahovski as Rene Carpenter^[6]
• Dominique McElligott as Louise Shepard^[7][8]
• Odette Annable as Trudy Cooper^[9]
• Erin Cummings as Marge Slayton^[10]
• Azure Parsons as Annie Glenn^[11]
• Zoe Boyle as Jo Schirra^[12]
• Desmond Harrington as Alan Shepard^[13]
• Bret Harrison as Gordon Cooper^[14]
• Wilson Bethel as Scott Carpenter^[15]
• Aaron McCusker as Wally Schirra^[16]
• Kenneth Mitchell as Deke Slayton^[17]
• Sam Reid as John Glenn
• Joel Johnstone as Gus Grissom
• Luke Kirby as Max Kaplan

Recurring

• Evan Handler as Duncan "Dunk" Pringle^[18]
• Matt Lanter as Ed White^[19]
• Antonia Bernath as Susan Borman
• Stella Allen as Alice Shepard
• Madison Wolfe as Julie Shepard
• Lorelei Gilbert as Candy Carpenter
• Dana Gourrier as Antoinette Gibbs
• Haley Strode as Jane Conrad
• Holley Fain as Marilyn Lovell
• Nora Zehetner as Marilyn See
• Alexa Havins as Pat White
• Ryan Doom as Donn F. Eisele

Production

The Astronaut Wives Club was originally scheduled to be broadcast during the 2013–14 American television season.^[2] On February 5, 2014, ABC officially ordered a limited series of ten episodes.^[2] It was expected to premiere on July 24, 2014,^[20] but was pushed to spring 2015 to undergo changes.^[21] It premiered on June 18, 2015.^[3]

Reception

The Astronaut Wives Club has received mixed reviews. Review aggregator site, Metacritic, has given the series a "mixed or average" score of 60 out of 100, based on 23 critics.^[22] On another review aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 50% rating, based on 28 reviews. The critical consensus there reads: "The Astronaut Wives relies on poorly paced storylines and clichéd characters, both used in service of a fact-based narrative that would have been better served in a more serious context."^[23]

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	"Launch"	Lone Scherfig	Stephanie Savage	June 18, 2015	5.51[24]
When NASA chooses seven men to fly into space, their wives' private lives become public.
2	"Protocol"	Lone Scherfig	Becky Hartman Edwards	June 25, 2015	4.50[25]
The success of Alan Shephard's mission draws the eyes of the nation to his family.
3	"Retroattitude"	J. Miller Tobin	Liz Tigelaar	July 2, 2015	4.06[26]
Rene Carpenter tells her story in a magazine interview and takes the spotlight off her husband, Scott.
4	"Liftoff"	J. Miller Tobin	Lisa Zwerling	July 9, 2015	4.28[27]
The public life of Gordon and Trudy Cooper puts pressure on their private life.
5	"Flashpoint"	Elodie Keene	Derek Simonds	July 16, 2015	4.44[28]
Trudy Cooper learns that NASA's senior officials believe that there is no place for women in space.
6	"In the Blind"	Patrick Norris	Nate DiMio	July 23, 2015	3.81[29]
John Glenn leaves NASA for Washington, D.C.
7	"Rendezvous"	Elodie Keene	Becky Hartman Edwards	July 30, 2015	4.07[30]
The Apollo program kicks off following the successful Gemini missions
8	"Abort"	Patrick Norris	Liz Tigelaar	August 6, 2015	3.53[31]
Betty Grissom has to deal with the death of her husband, Gus.
9	"The Dark Side"	Jon Amiel	Casallina Kisakye and Katie Schwartz	August 13, 2015	3.20[32]
During civic unrest across the country, the wives struggle to find their place in the world.
10	"Landing"	Jon Amiel	Stephanie Savage & Lisa Zwerling	August 20, 2015	3.81[33]
Apollo 11 lands on the moon.

References

1. "'The Astronaut Wives Club' Cancelled by ABC; No Season Two". TV Series Finale. August 23, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
2. Andreeva, Nellie (February 5, 2014). "ABC Space Age Drama 'Astronaut Wives Club' Gets 10-Episode Order For Summer". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
3. "ABC’s ‘Astronaut Wives Club’ Gets Summer Premiere Date". Deadline Hollywood. April 20, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
4. Goldberg, Lesley (February 11, 2014). "JoAnna Garcia Boards ABC's 'Astronaut Wives Club'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
5. Andreeva, Nellie (February 11, 2014). "JoAnna Garcia Swisher To Star In ABC's 'Astronaut Wives Club'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
6. "Yvonne Strahovski to Co-Star in ABC's 'Astronaut Wives Club'". The Hollywood Reporter. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
7. "'Hell on Wheels' Alum to Topline ABC's 'Astronaut Wives Club'". The Hollywood Reporter. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
8. "Dominique McElligott To Star In ABC’s ‘The Astronaut Wives Club’ - Deadline". Deadline. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
9. Goldberg, Lesley (March 14, 2014). "Odette Annable to Co-Star in ABC's 'Astronaut Wives Club'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
10. "Erin Cummings To Star In ‘Astronaut Wives Club’ Drama Series - Deadline". Deadline. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
11. Andreeva, Nellie (March 5, 2014). "Azure Parsons Joins 'Astronaut Wives Club', Kellee Stewart In Pilot 'Damaged Goods'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
12. "Zoe Boyle Joins ABC's 'Astronaut Wives Club'; Morgan Taylor Campbell In 'Sea Of Fire'". Deadline Hollywood. March 12, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
13. Ausiello, Michael (March 19, 2014). "ABC's Astronaut Wives Club Casts Dexter's Desmond Harrington as Alan Shepherd". TV Line. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
14. Goldberg, Lesley (April 17, 2014). "Bret Harrison Boards ABC's 'Astronaut Wives Club' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
15. Andreeva, Nellie (October 13, 2014). "Wilson Bethel To Co-Star On ABC’s ‘Astronaut Wives Club’, Pen Drama For CW". Deadline.com. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
16. "Bret Harrison, Aaron McCusker Join ABC’s ‘The Astronaut Wives Club'; Daniel London In WGN’s ‘Manhattan’". Deadline. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
17. "‘The Astronaut Wives Club’ on ABC: Kenneth Mitchell Cast as Deke Slayton - TVLine". TVLine. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
18. The Deadline Team. "TV Castings: ‘Astronaut Wives Club’ & ‘The Following - Deadline". Deadline. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
19. "'90210's' Matt Lanter Signs On for ABC's 'Astronaut Wives Club' (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
20. "ABC Unveils Summer Premiere Dates". Deadline Hollywood. March 24, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
21. Andreeva, Nellie (April 2, 2014). "ABC Summer Series 'Astronaut Wives Club' Pushed To Midseason, To Undergo Changes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
22. "The Astronaut Wives Club: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
23. "The Astronaut Wives Club: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
24. Kondolojy, Amanda (June 19, 2015). "Thursday Final Ratings: No Adjustment for 'Hannibal', 'Beauty and the Beast' or 'Mistresses' + Final US Open Numbers". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
25. Bibel, Sara (June 26, 2015). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Big Brother' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
26. Bibel, Sara (July 6, 2015). "Thursday Final Ratings: Rookie Blue Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
27. Kondolojy, Amanda (July 10, 2015). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Under the Dome' & 'Food Fighters' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
28. Kondolojy, Amanda (July 17, 2015). "Thursday Final Ratings: Mistresses Adjusted Up; Astronaut Wives Club Adjusted Down + No Adjustment for Beauty and the Beast". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
29. Bibel, Sara (July 24, 2015). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Big Brother' Adjusted Up; No Adjustment to 'Wayward Pines'". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
30. Kondolojy, Amanda (July 31, 2015). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Food Fighters' & 'Big Brother' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
31. Bibel, Sara (August 7, 2015). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Big Brother' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
32. Kondolojy, Amanda (August 14, 2015). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Astronaut Wives Club' & 'Under the Dome' Flat at Lows, 'Big Brother Slips' & 'Beauty and the Beast' Rises". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
33. Bibel, Sara (August 21, 2015). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Big Brother', 'Food Fighters', 'Boom!' & 'Dateline' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 22, 2015.

External links

• Official website
• The Astronaut Wives Club at the Internet Movie Database
• The Astronaut Wives Club at TV.com