EXCLUSIVE: Fresh off her latest film, People We Meet on Vacation, debuting at #1 on the Global Top 10 English Film list with 17.2M views, Netflix has doubled down on its business with rising star Emily Bader, tapping her to portray legendary soccer star Mia Hamm in the upcoming film The 99’ers.
The 99’ers is based on the 2000 HarperPerennial book The Girls of Summer: The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team and How It Changed the World by Jeré Longman. The story catches up with 1990s U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team in 1999, as they defy the odds to emerge victorious in a dramatic penalty kick shootout against China in the World Cup final, under the scorching summer sun and in a stadium filled with 93,000 fans. This monumental win captivated millions worldwide and forever altered the course of women’s sports.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of women’s soccer, who helped propel the sport into the mainstream, Hamm began playing as a forward for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team at just 15 years old in 1987, becoming the youngest player ever for the senior squad and beginning a legendary career that included multiple World Cup wins and Olympic gold medals. With the U.S. national team from 1987 to 2004, she was twice named FIFA World Player of the Year, and over the course of her career, became a global icon. She retired as the world’s all-time leading international goal scorer with 158 goals, a benchmark that stood for years, and was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2007. Currently, Hamm is a co-owner of the clubs Los Angeles FC and Angel City FC, and serves as a global ambassador for FC Barcelona.
The 99’ers will be directed by Nicole Kassell, the Emmy winner known for her work on series like Netflix’s Sirens and HBO’s Watchmen. She’ll work from a script by Katie Lovejoy (Love at First Sight, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before 3), Dana Stevens (The Woman King, Fatherhood), and Peter Hedges (Ben Is Back). Liza Chasin is producing for 3Dot Productions — the company behind chart-topper The Life List, which has a deal at Netflix — alongside Hayley Stool and Ross Greenburg, with Marla Messing, Jill Mazursky, and Krista Smith exec producing.
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Hailing from Netflix, Temple Hill and 3000 Pictures, People We Meet on Vacation is a hit rom-com based on the Emily Henry bestseller where Bader stars opposite Tom Blyth. Directed by Brett Haley, the film premiered on January 9. Bader previously starred in Prime Video’s My Lady Jane, which has gone on to become a cult favorite, and starred opposite Jennifer Esposito and Odessa A’zion in Fresh Kills, a mob drama that premiered at the Tribeca Festival. She is represented by CAA, Untitled Entertainment, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.
Kassell is repped by WME, Entertainment 360, and Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz; Lovejoy by Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment, CAA, and Myman Greenspan Fox; Stevens by UTA, Untitled Entertainment, and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole; and Hedges by Untitled Entertainment and Brecheen Feldman Breimer.