posted 03-19-2026 02:12 PM               

Kathy Sullivan is a consultant on the series.

The Challenger comes from Maggie Cohn (The Staircase), who will write, exec produce and serve as showrunner.

Based on Meredith E. Bagby's 2023 book The New Guys, it was initially developed at Kyra Sedgwick's Big Swing Productions, which will produce alongside Stewart's Nevermind label and Amblin Television. ...

"The Challenger" tells the 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 Ride's personal journey. It follows her, 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 her 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.

"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," added 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."

posted 09-17-2026 03:46 PM               

Huston will play William Rogers, who led the investigation into the Challenger explosion; D’Elia as Judy Resnik, the fourth woman to fly in space, who died aboard the Challenger; Sparks as Larry Mulloy, NASA SRB project manager; McGiver as William ‘Bill’ Lucas, NASA official blamed for the Challenger disaster; and Whigham as Roger Boisjoly, a mechanical engineer who strongly opposed the launch of the Challenger.

posted 10-02-2026 10:12 AM               

Healy will play Arnie Aldrich. Uche will play Ron McNair. Davis will play Bob Crippen. Bridges will play Jesse Moore. Isola will play Al McDonald. Aalderks will play Robert 'Hoot' Gibson.

William Fichtner as Nobel physicist Richard Feynman, with Kevin Carroll as his fellow physicist, Professor Arthur Walker. Eric Lange portrays Gen. Donald Kutyna (of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident), with Adelaide Clemens as NASA astronaut Rhea Seddon, Louisa Jacobson as Tam O'Shaughnessy (partner of Kristen Stewart's astronaut and physicist Sally Ride), and Hunter Burke as astronaut Steve Hawley.