'Mrs America': Release date, plot, cast, trailer and everything about FX's series on Equal Rights Amendment
A landmark in the history of the U.S. was the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment. The amendment to the United States Constitution sought to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of gender, in matters of divorce, property and employment, among other things. A new FX miniseries brings this important movement to the screens in the form of ‘Mrs. America’.
Release date:
‘Mrs. America’ will premiere its first three episodes on Hulu on April 15.
Plot:
The show, based in the '70s tells the story through the eyes of various second-wave feminists like Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug and Jill Ruckelshaus.
Per Deadline, ‘Mrs. America’ will recount the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and the backlash led by Phyllis Schlafly, a beauty queen-turned-conservative crusader. Per the synopsis of the show, ‘Mrs. America’ seeks to show how “one of the toughest battlegrounds in the culture wars of the ‘70s helped give rise to the Moral Majority and forever shifted the political landscape.”
Cast:
The show’s cast is a who’s who of raw talent in Hollywood.
Cate Blanchett as Phyllis Schlafly
The 50-year-old Australian-American actress and theatre director needs no introduction. Her critically-acclaimed performances in many films have earned her accolades that include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and three BAFTA Awards.
Some of her famous performances include 'The Talented Mr. Ripley', 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, 'Babel', 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', 'Thor: Ragnarok', and 'Ocean's 8'.
Per Deadline, Blanchett said about the series: “You just had the civil rights and paid equity act, so here was another huge change to the Constitution. It was suddenly a bridge too far for a lot of people about how much change we’re going to tolerate because what’s interesting about the time was that we see a lot of special interest groups use this to push through their platforms about isolation, integration and pro-life.”
She added, “The irony is that everything that Phyllis and the ‘antis’ worried about has come to pass without the equal rights amendment being put in the Constitution."
Rose Byrne as Gloria Steinem
The 40-year-old Australian actress has performed in several critically-acclaimed and commercially-successful films like 'Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones', 'Troy', '28 Weeks Later', 'Knowing', 'Get Him to the Greek', and 'Bridesmaids'.
Margo Martindale as Bella Abzug
Famous for being a "character actress", the 68-year-old has received praise for her performances in 'Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story', 'Million Dollar Baby', 'Dead Man Walking', 'The Firm', 'Lorenzo's Oil', 'Orphan', and 'Paris, je t'aime'.
John Slattery as Fred Schlafly
The 57-year-old American actor and director is perhaps best known for his role as Roger Sterling in AMC's 'Mad Men'. His performance as Ben Bradlee Jr. in 'Spotlight' has received much praise. He is also well-known for his role as Howard Stark in 'Iron Man 2', 'Ant-Man', 'Captain America: Civil War', and 'Avengers: Endgame'.
Elizabeth Banks is Jill Ruckelshaus
The 45-year-old American actress, director, writer, and producer recently directed, wrote, produced, and starred in the reboot of 'Charlie's Angels'. Her other famous performances include 'Wet Hot American Summer', the 'Spider-Man' trilogy, 'Seabiscuit', 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin', 'Zack and Miri Make a Porno', and 'Magic Mike XXL'.
Trailer:
“I am not against women. I am not against women working outside the home. What I am against, is the women’s liberation movement,” proclaimed Cate Blanchett as Schlafly at the beginning of the trailer for ‘Mrs. America’ that dropped on Thursday.
The trailer intercuts between shots of second-wave feminists in the '70s, discos, and other spaces, under the voice of Schlafly’s rants about a “sex-neutral feminist totalitarian nightmare”. If there is one line in the trailer that sets the tone for the series, it is from Rose Byrne as Steinem: “Revolutions are messy.”
‘Mrs. America’, at least from the looks of the trailer, will prove to be a powerhouse of a show -- a retelling of modern American history’s most tumultuous period.
If you like ‘Mrs. America’, you will also like:
‘American Crime Story’, ‘The People v. O. J. Simpson’, ‘The Defiant Ones’, ‘Godfather of Harlem’, and ‘When They See Us’.