New York Comic-Con VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Shantel VanSanten On Marriage To Joel Kinnaman In ‘For All Mankind’

For All Mankind is an upcoming science fiction miniseries with an interesting twist on a major historical event.

The show, which is set to premiere on Apple TV+ on Nov. 1, presents an alternate version of what events would have transpired had the global space race never ended following the Soviet Union’s first manned landing on the Moon.

Shantel VanSanten plays NASA astronaut Karen Baldwin on the series, which she opened up about in an exclusive interview at New York Comic Con last weekend.

“She is the wife — and ‘better half’ as I say — of Joel Kinnaman‘s character Edward Baldwin,” said VanSanten of her character, adding her co-star “can’t oppose” the description of her character as Edward Baldwin’s “better half.”

VanSanten, who has appeared on shows like One Tree Hill and The Flash, said she loved working with Kinnaman, the star of shows like The Killing, Altered Carbon and House of Cards and also complemented For All Mankind’s writers for their accurate portrayal of the emotional distance astronauts and their spouses often feel when the former travel into space. The actress also said she was amazed at how they depicted astronauts’ reintegration into society upon returning from a mission.

“As it was in real life, our husbands aren’t always on the Earth and it takes the family and the wives and the people who are left behind to ground us in where the world is,” said VanSanten. “I think the writers did such a wonderful job of exploring the challenges that are being the ones left behind.”

VanSanten also emphasized that For All Mankind rewrites history in a way that is significantly different from other similar television shows. She called the series’ reimagining of the space race “aspirational” and “hopeful.”

“It’s a possibly inspiring way for people to look at the changes we could have made by losing the race,” VanSanten said. “I think it’s such a beautiful metaphor for life because there [are] those ebbs and flows and wins and losses.”

VanSanten added that as a history buff, she thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the show is grounded partly in real events. However, the 34-year-old actress confessed she still had to perform substantive research, as she was not alive in 1969 when the Moon landing occurred. VanSanten also revealed she has a personal connection to her new series, as she partially grew up in Houston, Texas, and thus had the opportunity to frequently visit NASA’s headquarters as a child.

“It was such a dream of mine as a kid to go into the stars, so it’s really full circle to be on a show that does that,” VanSanten said.