Kristen Stewart will make her television debut as Sally Ride in the upcoming Prime Video limited series “The Challenger,” Amazon MGM announced on Thursday.
The show, from Big Swing Productions, Amblin Television and Nevermind Pictures, received an official greenlight and will chronicle the first American woman in space’s journey through the astronaut program to break the glass ceiling, as well as her work on the commission to investigate the deadly Challenger disaster in 1986.
Created by WGA winner Maggie Cohn (“The Staircase,” “American Crime Story,” “Narcos: Mexico”), who serves as writer, executive producer, and showrunner, the series is inspired by Meredith E. Bagby’s acclaimed 2023 book “The New Guys,” which was initially developed at Big Swing Productions. BAFTA-nominated filmmaker James Hawes (“One Life,” “Slow Horses,” “Black Mirror”) will direct and executive produce.
Ride was not only the first American woman in space, but also the youngest American in space at the age of 32. An astronaut and physicist, she battled misogyny to rise through the ranks. Ride also hid her sexuality until her death, when her obituary revealed that she’d been in a 27-year relationship with Tam O’Shaughnessy.
Her life and career are the focus of the excellent 2025 doc “Sally,” but “The Challenger” gives Stewart a chance to bring Ride’s life and career to the screen in a different form.
Executive producers for “The Challenger” include Kyra Sedgwick and Valerie Stadler for Big Swing Productions; Maggie Cohn, James Hawes, and author Meredith E. Bagby; and Kristen Stewart, Dylan Meyer, and Maggie McLean through their Nevermind label, and Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey for Amblin Television. Amblin Television also produced the upcoming Apple TV adaptation of “Cape Fear,” set for release in June, as well as the upcoming Netflix series “All the Sinners Bleed.”
Per the official synopsis, “The Challenger” tells “both the unprecedented events leading up to the tragedy, and the shocking investigation that followed. As the members of the 1986 Rogers Commission interrogate the complex inner workings of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to find what, or who, was responsible for the Challenger’s doomed fate, the show explores Commission member Sally Ride’s personal journey. We follow Sally, and the rest of the diverse Astronaut Class of ’78, through the ranks of the shuttle program, through initial recruitment and training, professional and personal highs and lows, until Sally’s historic glass ceiling moment as she becomes the first American woman in space.”
“Meredith, Valerie, and I at Big Swing have been passionately developing this project since 2017, and we are thrilled to be partnering with Amblin and Amazon MGM Studios. There is no one better than Maggie Cohn to bring to life the complex story of the Challenger and the new class of astronauts recruited by NASA in the early 1970s, all through the eyes of an American hero, Sally Ride.” said Sedgwick in a statement.
“Sally Ride’s courage and brilliance changed history, and we couldn’t imagine a more powerful actor to bring her story to life than Kristen Stewart,” said Peter Friedlander, Head of Global Television, Amazon MGM Studios. “’The Challenger’ is an inspiring story about breaking barriers, and we’re thrilled to collaborate with Big Swing Productions, Amblin Television, Nevermind Pictures, Maggie Cohn, and James Hawes to share it with our global Prime Video audience.”
The deal was brokered by WME, representing Amblin Television and Stewart, and CAA, representing Sedgwick, Big Swing Productions, and Cohn.
Stewart is repped by WME, McKuin Frankel Whitehead, and Viewpoint.
Sedgwick is repped by CAA, Range Media Partners, Origin Public Relations and Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham.
Cohn is repped by CAA, 360, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
James is repped by CAA’s Rob Kenneally, Chris Smith, Pete Stein, Nancy Etz; UK Agent Cathy King (42MP); and attorneys PJ Shapiro and Gregory Slewett (Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole LLP).
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