Described as “Grey’s Anatomy in space,” ABC has picked up the CTV science fiction series “Defying Gravity.” The space thriller will make its debut Sunday, August 2nd.
Sexy and provocative, “Defying Gravity” is set in the very near future against the background of our solar system. Eight astronauts from five countries (four women and four men) undertake a mysterious six-year international space mission covering eight billion miles.
ABC will debut the series Sunday, August 2nd with a two-hour premiere 9:00-11:00 pm ET/PT. The series will air regularly from 10:00-11:00 pp, starting Sunday, August 9th.
Episodes are divided between the present, as the space ship Antares travels towards Venus, and the past, with flashbacks to earlier years when the astronauts were in the grueling selection and training process. The drama revolves around the astronauts as well as the ground crew that supports their mission – a mission that has “a powerful and awesome mystery at its core.”
The series’ international ensemble cast is led by Ron Livingston as Antares flight engineer Maddux Donner, Laura Harris as the ship’s geologist, Zoe Barnes, Malik Yoba as Antares commander Ted Shaw, Christina Cox as biologist Jen Crane, Florentine Lahme as pilot Nadia Schilling, Paula Garces as pilot, scientist and on-board documentary producer Paula Morales, Eyal Podell as psychiatrist and medical officer Evram Mintz, and Dylan Taylor as theoretical physicist Steve Wassenfelder. The cast on planet Earth is led by Andrew Airlie as Mission Control commander Mike Goss, Karen LeBlanc as scientist Eve Shaw, Zahf Paroo as grounded flight engineer Ajay Sharma, and Maxim Roy as flight surgeon Claire Dereux. Episodic director Peter Howitt also plays the role of BBC journalist Trevor Williams.
Created by James Parriott, “Defying Gravity” was inspired by “Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets,” a fictional docudrama produced by Impossible Pictures for the BBC. The series is a co-venture between Fox Television Studios and Omni Film Productions and is produced in association with Canada’s CTV and Germany’s ProSieben.
“Defying Gravity” is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format, with 5.1-channel surround sound.
