Cate Blanchett to play anti-feminist activist in FX limited series from Mad Men writer
In a nod to the culture wars in which we currently find ourselves, FX will soon find itself transported to another tumultuous time in U.S. history: The 1970s fight to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. Titled Mrs. America, the limited series comes from Emmy-winning Mad Men writer Dahvi Waller, who is building the story around Phyllis Schlafly, the conservative, anti-feminist activist who mounted a successful campaign against the ratification.
Cast as the firebrand is Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett, a vocal feminist who sounds game as hell to dig into such a controversial figure. “I am extremely excited about delving into the material as there couldn’t be a more appropriate time to peel back the layers of this recent period of history, which couldn’t be more relevant today,” she says in a press release.
Feminist icons of the era—Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm, and more—will also play a role in the series, which is said to illustrate how the battle “[gave] rise to the Moral Majority and forever shifted our political landscape.”