By Andrew Irumba
Kampala: Driven by a formidable female ensemble, this must watch 10 Emmy nominee limited series premieres on Monday, 28 September, at 21:30 CAT.
Prepare for heated debates between two competing women’s organizations when Mrs. America, the new critically acclaimed FX limited series, debuts on M-Net 101/102 on Monday, 28 September, at 21:30 CAT.
Centred on a crucial moment in US history, this nine-part thriller, is the latest creation by Dahvi Waller, the talented producer and director who is well-known for her inputs to the award-winning series’ Mad Men and Desperate Housewives. In this bold series, she focuses on the rivalry between the feminist movement and the conservative movement in the United States.
In the series, the two-time Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award recipient, Cate Blanchett, is mesmerizing as the pretty contentious conservative Phyllis Schafly, the leader of the ERA rebellion. Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Sarah Paulson (Glass), who plays Alice Macray, Phyllis’ best friend, joins her efforts to block ERA ratification. Elizabeth Banks (30 Rock and Modern Family) shines as another prominent activist at the time, Jill Ruckelshaus – a former White House special assistant.
It is 1972, and a group of second-wave feminists is fighting for equal rights for women through the Equal Rights Amendment. But shockingly, conservative author Phyllis Schlafly launches a STOP ERA campaign, waging a war of words with the feminist group. As a housewife and mother of six children, she claims that the ERA will stand in the way of women’s roles as wives and mothers, thereby diminishing the traditional family structures that existed at the time.
Fighting in opposition to Blanchett are several massive stars.
As the iconic feminist and activist Gloria Steinem, who is one of the co-founders of the National Organization for Women and the National Women’s Political Caucus, is Emmy Award nominated Australian actress, Rose Byrne (Damages).
Rallying beside her is Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black), who beautifully captures the fire that ignited in the magnificent Shirley Chisholm, who became the first black woman ever elected to the US Congress.
Other big stars that viewers can look forward to seeing include Margo Martindale (Sneaky Pete), Melanie Lynskey (Two and a Half Men), Jeanne Tripplehorn (Grey Gardens), Tracey Ullman (The Tracey Ullman Show), as well as John Slattery (Mad Men) and James Marsden (Westworld).
