Most of Hollywood’s biggest stars made a transition from film to television in recent years, and Kristen Stewart is the next one in line. She’s gearing up to play her first major TV role in The Challenger, the limited series about Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly to space.
This project is based on Meredith E. Bagby’s book The New Guys, which chronicles the journey of NASA’s 1978 astronaut class, which included several groundbreaking astronauts. Sally Ride was one of them, and she made history as the first American woman to fly to space, in addition to being the first known LGBT+ astronaut to do so.
Kyra Sedgwick’s Big Swing Productions developed this project, and Stewart emerged as a clear favorite to play the lead role after her passion for the project shined through during pitch meetings.
“She has never done television, but when she read this she became obsessed with telling the story of Sally Ride from her own unique perspective… She’s so compelling and was so rabid about telling this story about an American hero who had to hide who she was, in that time,” Sedgwick told Deadline.
Sedgwick’s Big Swing Productions is producing this limited series along with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners and Stewart’s own Nevermind Production. Maggie Cohn (The Staircase) is coming on board as the show’s writer and executive producer.
