As reported by Deadline, Marisa Tomei has signed on to play feminist icon Gloria Steinem for a new HBO miniseries about the creation of Ms., the magazine that Steinem co-founded in 1971. The miniseries will also star Kathy Najimy as Steinem’s good friend—and member of the House Of Representatives—Bella Abzug, and Deadline says it will also “reflect on those whose lives Ms. changed during the world-altering early days of the Women’s Movement.” We assume that means it will go a little further than the story of Steinem deciding that there should be a magazine for women that’s totally controlled by women, but we don’t know any specifics. Maybe it will have Band Of Brothers-style interviews with women talking about the importance of Ms. over the years?
Anyway, George Clooney—who is a man—will executive produce the miniseries (which will also be called Ms.), along with Najimy and Tomei. Steinem herself is a consultant on the series, which is good, since she was probably there for most of the things it will cover. It sounds like Ms. is pretty early in development, so we don’t know when it will actually premiere on HBO.