FX dropped the trailer for “Mrs. America,” its nine-episode limited series starring Cate Blanchett as Phyllis Schlafly, during the Television Critics Association press tour on Thursday. If you didn’t know that the real-life Schlafly didn’t support the women’s liberation movement, you certainly will after watching this.
You can watch the two-minute, 16-second clip above and see just how deep Phyllis’ complex relationship with the attempts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment goes.
The show, one of the first “FX on Hulu” series, will launch its first three episodes Wednesday, April 15 on FX’s streaming hub on Hulu, with new episodes airing each subsequent week on the platform.
Along with Blanchett, “Mrs. America” stars Rose Byrne as Gloria Steinem, Margo Martindale as Bella Abzug, Uzo Aduba as Shirley Chisholm, Elizabeth Banks as Jill Ruckelshaus and Tracey Ullman as Betty Friedan. Other cast members include Sarah Paulson, John Slattery, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Ari Graynor, Melanie Lynskey and Kayli Carter.
Here’s the official description for the series:
“Mrs. America” tells 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.
“Mrs. America” was created by Dahvi Waller, who serves as showrunner and executive produces alongside Stacey Sher, Coco Francini, Blanchett, as well as Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who directed four of the nine episodes, including the first two.