Defying Gravity

Defying Gravity is a multi-nationally produced science fiction television series which first aired on August 2, 2009 on ABC and CTV and was canceled in October 2009. Set in the year 2052, the series follows eight astronauts (four women and four men) from four countries on a six-year space mission through the Solar System, during which they are monitored from Earth via a real-time communication system. The series was pitched to networks as "Grey's Anatomy in space". Thirteen episodes of the series were produced before it was cancelled, only eight of which were shown on ABC, though the full run was shown in other countries or online. Premise The program follows the adventures of eight astronauts on board the international spacecraft Antares, the next ambitious crewed space mission after the Mars landing. The lives of the astronauts are being constantly recorded and broadcast back to Earth both as part of an ongoing documentary and as part of mission monitoring. Despite a libido-suppressing device worn by each crew member, referred to as "HALO" for "Hormone Activated Libido Oppressors", romantic entanglements develop among some crew members. Further complicating their lives is a mysterious storage pod that contains something referred to as Beta, which is exerting an influence on their mission. Characters On Antares Evram Mintz (Eyal Podell) is the ship's doctor and psychiatrist. He's Claire Dereux's boyfriend. Mintz is from Israel, where he served in the IDF. Jen Crane (Christina Cox) is a biologist, she's married to Rollie Crane and had a past relationship with Ted Shaw. She's from Canada. Maddux Donner (Ron Livingston) is the chief engineer. Sharon Lewis was his lover before she died during a mission on Mars, he currently has a casual sexual relationship with Nadia Schilling, and has an awkward relation with Zoe Barnes. He's from Iowa, USA. Nadia Schilling (Florentine Lahme) is a pilot. She has a casual sexual relationship with Maddux Donner. Nadia is from Germany. Series creator James Parriott later stated that the intention was to reveal later in the series that Nadia was actually intersex, and the effects of the beta object were changing her into the male she could have been. Paula Morales (Paula Garcés) is the payload specialist, lander pilot and is responsible for an on-board documentary for kids. She's from Brownsville, Texas. Steve Wassenfelder (Dylan Taylor) is a theoretical physicist and a porn connoisseur.