'The Plot Against America' Preview: What if the US sided with Nazi Germany?
Adapted from Phil Rothes's novel, HBO's upcoming mini-series 'The Plot Against America', is a six-part production that unfolds through the perspective of a Jewish family living in Newark. It's an alternate timeline about an America that elected Charles Lindbergh as president, who hid behind 'America first' nationalism and did not foray into World War II.
This isn't the first show on what-America-could-have-been, as Amazon Prime’s 'The Man in the High Castle' was also set in a parallel post-World War II universe, where the United States is divided into the American Reich and the Japanese Pacific States. Apple TV+ show presented another timeline where Russia was the first to put a man on the moon and Nixon withdrew troops from Vietnam quickly.
In 'The Plot Against America', the Levin family begins to see the dark threat posed by the Lindberg candidacy and the endorsement of fascism. Lindbergh defeats Roosevelt in a 1940 election, after stressing that the USA should be isolated from the war in Europe. The violence against the Jews begin in their own country. The Levins realize that the faith in their homeland is eroded under the Lindberg administration. Slowly, the anti-semitism grows more pronounced and Herman Levin (Morgan Spector) begins to be afraid for his wife Bess (Zoe Kazan) and their two young sons.
In the middle of all this rising tension, Bess's sister Evelyn (Winona Ryder) falls for Lionel Bengelsdorf (John Turturro), who is a Lindberg supporter. She seems to believe that Lindbergh is not a fascist and 'is a good man'. Gradually, the tension reaches a breaking point and all the Jews begin to live in terror. The family has nowhere to go.
The synopsis of the first episode reads, "Herman takes his family to look at a house in an upwardly mobile neighbourhood, though Bess is wary of leaving the safety of their tight-knit Jewish community; Evelyn becomes charmed by a distinguished local clergyman."
'The Plot Against America' will air on Mondays at 9 pm on HBO.