Introducing The Astronaut Wives Club

On June 18, the new ABC drama The Astronaut Wives Club will debut at 8 PM.

Based on the book by Lily Koppel, this new series will focus on seven women who were key players behind some of the biggest events in American history. As America’s astronauts were launched on death-defying missions, the lives of their young wives were transformed, seemingly overnight, from military spouses to American royalty. As their celebrity rose, and tragedy began to touch their lives, they rallied together.

The cast includes Dominique McElligott (Hell on Wheels), Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck), Odette Annable (Rush and House), Joanna Garcia-Swisher (Once Upon a Time), Erin Cummings (Spartacus), Azure Parsons (Salem) and Zoe Boyle (Downton Abbey) as Jo Schirra.

The husband will be played by Sam Reid (the box office film Belle) as John Glenn, Desmond Harrington (Dexter) as Alan Shepard, Bret Harrison (Reaper) as Gordo Cooper, Aaron McCusker (Shameless and Fortitude) as Wally Schirra, Kenneth Mitchell (Jericho) as Deke Slayton, Joel Johnstone (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day) as Gus Grissom and Wilson Bethel (Hart of Dixie) as Scott Carpenter.

Here is an extended sneak peek at the first five minutes of the premiere of The Astronaut Wives Club.

Dominique McElligott

McElligott will play Louise Shepard, who was known as “Saint Louise” and married to Alan Shepard, the first man in space, had to hide his philandering ways.

Yvonne Strahovski

Strahovski will play Rene Carpenter, who was the rebel of the housewives, doing things her own way. Her husband Scott Carpenter was the fourth man in space. She went on to have her own talk show in the 1970s, tackling women’s issues and speaking her mind.

Odette Annable

Annable will play Trudy Cooper, who was about to divorce her husband Gordo Cooper as he was picked for the mission. Gordo went on to pilot the longest and final Mercury flight. The couple stayed together for appearances’ sake. She was a pilot in her own right too.

Joanna Garcia-Swisher

Garcia-Swisher will play Betty Grissom, who was married to Gus Grissom, the second man in space who died in 1967 in the Apollo 1 fire.

Erin Cummings

Cummings will play Marge Slayton, who was the scandal queen of the group. She was pursued by tabloid magazines because her husband Deke Slayton was her second husband [something that was frowned upon during that time].

Azure Parsons

Parsons will play Annie Glenn, who was married to John Glenn, the first astronaut to orbit the Earth. She shied away from the press as much as possible because of a server stutter for which she was afflicted with well into her 50’s.

Zoe Boyle

Boyle will play Jo Schirra, who was married to Wally Schirra, the commander of Apollo 7, the first manned flight after the Apollo disaster that killed three astronauts. She was Navy royalty being the daughter of an admiral.