Primetime space after ‘Sex in the City’

The actor formerly known on-screen as attorney Harry Goldenblatt is now NASA’s greatest public relations whiz.

Actor Evan Handler, who gained international attention as divorce lawyer turned husband of Charlotte York on HBO’s “Sex in the City,” has reinvented himself in primetime.

He currently appears as a NASA spokesman on ABC’s new 10-episode drama series, “The Astronaut Wives Club” based on the book by Lily Koppel. His luck with recurring roles doesn’t seem to extend to the names of his characters, however, and as Duncan “Dunk” Pringle, his on-screen alter ego has nowhere near the charm of Goldenblatt.

Nor the fun. When the show’s leading ladies are unhappy with NASA’s lack of protocol when it comes to informing survivors of fatalities, for instance, they storm his office. He also has to tangle with a list of other demands as these women challenge the status quo of gender roles for American housewives in the turbulent 1960s.

In this largely lily-white WASP drama, his on-screen identity hasn’t been established. Nor has that of a colleague, a tall, dark nerdy journalist named Max, who describes himself as a New Yorker, which totally reads as Jewish.

The cast of ‘Sex in the City.’ (courtesy)

Handler comes to the role with a long list of acting experience, including “Californication,” “Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip,” “Necessary Roughness” and “The West Wing.”

His credits include both “Sex And The City” films, “Ransom” and “Natural Born Killers” and many on-stage appearances.

A twice-published author, Handler toured through the Jewish Book Council, speaking at the American Jewish University and other venues.

His books, “It’s Only Temporary: The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive” and “Time on Fire: My Comedy of Terrors,” both address his survival of a purportedly incurable leukemia diagnosed when he was 24 and its surprising aftermath. The former title was based on his off-Broadway play.