Ground control to Major Tom. Astronaut and Internet sensation Chris Hadfield is ready for his next mission. ABC is ready to turn his book, "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth" into a television sitcom.
According to Deadline, ABC has ordered a pilot based on the book, which was a bestseller in 2013. The family focused series will center around an astronaut returning to Earth after an extended time in space. He has to learn how to adjust back into Earth-based society, which "might be the hardest mission he's ever faced."
Hadfield made headlines in 2013 when he became the first Canadian to command a space mission during a five-month stay on the International Space Station. Although that mission was his third journey into space, he became an astronaut rock star after recording video of his musical performances on the ISS, including a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity." That video scored Hadfield a massive following on social media and 22 million views on YouTube.
After returning to Earth in 2013 and announcing his retirement, Hadfield penned "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination and Being Prepared for Anything." The book takes readers through an astronaut's adventures, both in space and on Earth, and how those experiences relate to life on Earth.
"All of the importance [of spaceflight] is in how it affects the people and what it means to us, as an individual or as an industry or as a people," says Hadfield. "So, it is really about how you bring it back and make the experience as relevant that matters at all."
Hadfield will be a consulting producer on the show, which is as of yet still untitled. Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker will be the series showrunners.
Hadfield's second book, "You Are Here: Around the World in 92 Minutes," comes out in October 2014. In that book, Hadfield relives his time in orbit around Earth, including photos that he took on-board the ISS.
Astronauts are quickly becoming a hot topic for television sitcoms and dramas. Not only did former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino appear on "The Big Bang Theory," but CBS recently premiered "Extant," a drama based on the life of a female astronaut returning to Earth after facing a mystery in space.
ABC is working on a mini-series based on the book "The Astronaut Wives Club," which depicts the lives of women married to astronauts in the 1960s. NBC is currently working on "Mission Control," which is about a 1960s female aerospace engineer.
