Kristen Stewart to Play Sally Ride in Prime Video Series 'The Challenger'
Kristen Stewart is about to take on a historic role.
The 35-year-old Love Lies Bleeding actress will appear as Sally Ride in a Prime Video limited series called The Challenger, inspired by Meredith E. Bagby’s book The New Guys.
This will be the first regular TV role Kristen has done in her career.
Keep reading to find out more…
The development of the show was originally reported back in June of 2024.
American Crime Story writer Maggie Cohn is writing and serving as showrunner and executive producer, per Variety.
Kyra Sedgwick and Valerie Stadler are also executive producing for Big Swing Productions, as well as the author, and so will Kristen, Dylan Meyer, and Maggie McLean through their production company Nevermind.
“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,” Kyra said in a statement.
“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.”
Amblin Television’s Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey will executive produce as well, and James Hawes, who helmed the “Hated in the Nation” and “Smithereens” episodes for Black Mirror, will direct and executive produce.
Here’s the official logline: “The Challenger tells the gripping story of one of the most defining moments in space history, 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 (Stewart) 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.”
“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 of 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.”
Kristen recently opened up about why she chose to publicly come out on SNL.