The Astronaut Wives Club
2015 American television series
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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.[2] 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 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Genre | Period drama |
| Based on | |
| Developed by | Stephanie Savage |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Pieter A. Schlosser |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Running time | 43 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | June 18 – August 20, 2015[1] |
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 miniseries, telling a complete story.[1] 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.[4]
Cast and characters
Main
- JoAnna Garcia as Betty Grissom[5][6]
- Yvonne Strahovski as Rene Carpenter[7]
- Dominique McElligott as Louise Shepard[8][9]
- Odette Annable as Trudy Cooper[10]
- Erin Cummings as Marge Slayton[11]
- Azure Parsons as Annie Glenn[12]
- Zoe Boyle as Jo Schirra[13]
- Desmond Harrington as Alan Shepard[14]
- Bret Harrison as Gordon Cooper[15]
- Wilson Bethel as Scott Carpenter[16]
- Aaron McCusker as Wally Schirra[17]
- Kenneth Mitchell as Deke Slayton[18]
- Sam Reid as John Glenn
- Joel Johnstone as Gus Grissom
- Luke Kirby as Max Kaplan
Recurring
- Evan Handler as Duncan "Dunk" Pringle[19]
- Matt Lanter as Ed White[20]
- 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,[21] but was pushed to spring 2015 to undergo changes.[22] It premiered on June 18, 2015.[3]
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | US viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Launch" | Lone Scherfig | Stephanie Savage | June 18, 2015 | 5.51[23] | |
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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[24] | |
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The success of Alan Shepard's mission draws the eyes of the nation to his family. | ||||||
| 3 | "Retroattitude" | J. Miller Tobin | Liz Tigelaar | July 2, 2015 | 4.06[25] | |
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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[26] | |
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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[27] | |
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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[28] | |
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John Glenn leaves NASA for Washington, D.C. | ||||||
| 7 | "Rendezvous" | Elodie Keene | Becky Hartman Edwards | July 30, 2015 | 4.07[29] | |
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The Apollo program kicks off following the successful Gemini missions. | ||||||
| 8 | "Abort" | Patrick Norris | Liz Tigelaar | August 6, 2015 | 3.53[30] | |
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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[31] | |
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During civic unrest across the country, the wives endeavor to find their place in the world. | ||||||
| 10 | "Landing" | Jon Amiel | Stephanie Savage & Lisa Zwerling | August 20, 2015 | 3.81[32] | |
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Apollo 11's Lunar Module Eagle lands on the Moon. | ||||||
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.[33] 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."[34]