The first look atCate Blanchettand her co-stars in the upcoming FX seriesMrs. Americahas been revealed. The transformation each cast member has undergone is stunning. You’d be forgiven for doing some big double-takes as you scroll through the first images of all the key players, which are available below.
Leading the charge for “Best Dead Ringer” is Blanchett herself, who will be playing conservative ’70s activistPhyllis Schlaflyin the nine-episode limited series. Blanchett’s Schlafly will be facing off against prominent feminist leaders and thinkers of the time, includingRose ByrneasGloria Steinem,Margo MartindaleasBella Abzug,Tracey UllmannasBetty Friedan, andUzo AdubaasShirley Chisholm. Additional cast includesJames Marsdenas Republican congressmanPhilip Crane,John SlatteryplaysFred Schlafly, andElizabeth BanksisJill Ruckelshaus, a White House assistant, women’s rights activist, and wife of the former head of the EPA,William Ruckelshaus. Rounding out the cast isSarah PaulsonasAlice, a composite character and likely audience surrogate as we follow all the action of prominent figures colliding during a particularly powerful moment in history.
That moment? The fight to get the Equal Rights Amendment (commonly referred to as the ERA) passed. The amendment would have guaranteed women legal equality with men, protecting them from issues like workplace discrimination. Schlafly was opposed while leaders like Steinem were very much in favor of it. Historical spoiler alert: the ERA never passed, making this series even more important to watch as intersectional feminists continue to fight for the same equal treatment men are afforded in all areas of life. I fully expect things to get a littletooreal while watching the limited series but that only makes it all the more important for it to air on a prominent network like FX. Plus, if we’re going to revisit the paradigm-shifting moment in recent American history, don’t you want to do it with this cast led by Blanchett, who is appearing in a TV role for their first time in her career?
Mrs. Americais written byMad Men’sDahvi Waller. Waller and Blanchett serve as executive producers alongsideStacey Sher,Coco Francini,Anna Boden, andRyan Fleck. Boden and Fleck, who co-directedCaptain Marvel, also directed the first two episodes ofMrs. America.
You can check out all the photos of theMrs. Americacast below. The series will air in 2020. The officialMrs. Americasynopsis reads:
Mrs. Americatells the story of the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and the unexpected backlash led by a conservative woman named Phyllis Schlafly, played by Blanchett. Through the eyes of the women of that era - both Schlafly and Second Wave feminists Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug and Jill Ruckelshaus - the series explores how one of the toughest battlegrounds in the culture wars of the 70s helped give rise to the Moral Majority and forever shifted our political landscape.
