The Astronaut Wives Club is an American period drama television series developed by Stephanie Savage for ABC. It was based on Lily Koppel's 2013 book of the same name. The series told the story of the wives of the Mercury Seven – America's first group of astronauts – who together formed the Astronaut Wives Club. Actresses Dominique McElligott, Yvonne Strahovski, JoAnna Garcia, Erin Cummings, Azure Parsons, Zoe Boyle, and Odette Annable played the roles of the astronauts' wives.
The Astronaut Wives Club premiered on June 18, 2015. Following the completion of its run, the series' developer noted the series had been planned as a miniseries, telling a complete story. However, series creator Stephanie Savage revealed in an interview with Variety that the producers were interested in making the series an anthology in case it gained a renewal for a second season. Possible seasons would have featured wives of men in the 1920s, wives of World War II soldiers, wives of men who work on Wall Street, and wives of men in the 1980s, among other possible scenarios.
Cast and characters
Main JoAnna Garcia as Betty Grissom Yvonne Strahovski as Rene Carpenter Dominique McElligott as Louise Shepard Odette Annable as Trudy Cooper Erin Cummings as Marge Slayton Azure Parsons as Annie Glenn Zoe Boyle as Jo Schirra Desmond Harrington as Alan Shepard Bret Harrison as Gordon Cooper Wilson Bethel as Scott Carpenter Aaron McCusker as Wally Schirra Kenneth Mitchell as Deke Slayton Sam Reid as John Glenn Joel Johnstone as Gus Grissom Luke Kirby as Max Kaplan
Recurring Evan Handler as Duncan "Dunk" Pringle Matt Lanter as Ed White 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. On February 5, 2014, ABC officially ordered a limited series of ten episodes. It was expected to premiere on July 24, 2014, but was pushed to spring 2015 to undergo changes. It premiered on June 18, 2015.
Episodes
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. 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."
See also Apollo 11 in popular culture Men into Space The Cape (1996 TV series) The Right Stuff (TV series)
References
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