Kristen Stewart to play astronaut Sally Ride in 'The Challenger'
Kristen Stewart is set to star as Sally Ride, the first American woman and the third woman to fly in space, in a new limited series titled The Challenger. It's being developed by Big Swing Productions, owned by Hollywood actor Kyra Sedgwick. Alongside Sedgwick, Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners and Stewart will executive produce through her Nevermind production label. Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey from Amblin are also on board as executive producers. This will be Stewart's TV series debut.
'The Challenger' based on NASA's diversified astronaut class
The Challenger is based on the book The New Guys by Meredith E. Bagby, which focuses on the 1978 NASA astronaut class—the first to not consist solely of "white men," and to include women. The series will explore the cultural clash that ensued when NASA began diversifying its space shuttle program's pilots and crew. Maggie Cohn, known for her work on American Crime Story, will serve as writer and showrunner for the series. The show will likely stream on Amazon.
Ride's legacy and the space shuttle Challenger disaster
In 1983, Ride became a national icon as the first American woman to fly on the space shuttle Challenger. However, in 1986, the space shuttle exploded shortly after launch, killing all seven crew members. Following this disaster, Ride joined the Rogers Commission to investigate the cause of the explosion and identified issues with O-rings that became stiff at low temperatures. She passed away from cancer in 2012.
'The Challenger' series: A long-awaited project
Sedgwick revealed that the development of The Challenger has been a long-term project, reportedly stating, "This is something we've worked on at Big Swing since 2017." The series will not only focus on the diverse group of astronauts but also delve into the story of the Rogers Commission that investigated the Challenger disaster. The aim is to prepare this project for release around the anniversary of the Challenger disaster, which occurred nearly four decades ago on January 28, 1986.
Stewart's career evolution and new role
As for Stewart—known for her role in the Twilight films—she continues to evolve her career with this new role. Despite not being particularly drawn to television, she became "obsessed with telling the story of Sally Ride from her own unique perspective," according to Sedgwick. "Who better to play Sally Ride than one of the great actors of her generation? As they say in Hollywood, passion wins the day," she further added. Stewart was recently seen in Love Lies Bleeding.
