ABC Space Age Drama ‘The Astronaut Wives Club’ Gets 10-Episode Order For Summer

ABC is adding a second homegrown original drama series for next summer with a 10-episode straight-to-series order to Astronaut Wives Club. It will join Mistresses, set to return for a second season in the summer. Both series are produced by ABC Studios. The Astronaut Wives Club hails from Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage’s Fake Empire and Michael London’s Groundswell Productions.

Based on Lily Koppel’s best-selling book published last summer, the project had been on fast-track development since ABC took it in in October as a potential limited series for summer eyeing February-March start date.  Then 10 days ago, The Astronaut Wives Club was given a traditional pilot order. Today, that has been upped to a 10-episode pickup for what will likely be marketed as a limited “event” series for summer. I hear work on backup scripts is already underway. Written by Savage in her first TV writing effort since co-creating Gossip Girl with Schwartz, the 1969-set Astronaut Wives Club tells the real story of the women who stood beside some of the biggest heroes in American history during the height of the space race. Savage, Schwartz and Fake Empire’s President of Television Len Goldstein executive produce with London. Groundswell’s president of production Janice Williams, who brought the project to London, is expected to produce.