Uzo Aduba To Play Shirley Chisholm In FX Limited Series, ‘Mrs. America’
Uzo Aduba is slated to play politician Shirley Chisholm FX’s upcoming limited series, Mrs. America, which will star Oscar winner Cate Blanchett. Spanning nine episodes, the series is slated for a 2020 premiere on FX.
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.
Along with Rose Byrne, Sarah Paulson, Margo Martindale, Ari Graynor, John Slattery, James Marsden, Jeanne Tripplehorn,Tracey Ullman, Melanie Lynskey, & Kayli Carter, Aduba is part of the 11 new additions to the drama series.
Marsden (Westworld) as Phil Crane, a conservative congressman from Phyllis’ home state of Illinois and one of her most powerful allies
Aduba (Orange Is the New Black) as Shirley Chisholm, who made history as the first African-American congresswoman. She also became the first African-American candidate to run for president from a national political party when she launched her unprecedented campaign in 1972.
John Slattery (Mad Men) as Fred Schlafly, Phyllis’ anti-Communist husband who was a prominent lawyer and GOP donor
Rose Byrne (Damages) as Gloria Steinem, the most recognizable leader of the women’s movement, who co-founded the magazine Ms. and played a major part in the effort to pass the ERA
Margo Martindale (The Americans) as Bella Abzug, a three-term congresswoman who spearheaded the effort to pass the ERA
Ari Graynor (I’m Dying Up Here) as Brenda Feigen-Fasteau, a Harvard-educated lawyer and young feminist who co-founded Ms. with Steinem
Melanie Lynskey (Castle Rock) as Rosemary Thomson, a homemaker in Schlafley’s inner circle who eagerly joined her fight against the ERA
Tracey Ullman (The Tracey Ullman Show) as Betty Friedan, known as the mother of the women’s movement. An active proponent of the ERA, Friedan wrote The Feminine Mystique and co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus.
Jeanne Tripplehorn (Criminal Minds) as Eleanor Schlafly, Fred’s unmarried sister and a close confidant of Phyllis, who is also a devoted aunt to Phyllis’ six children
Kayli Carter (Godless) as Pamela, a young and impressionable (and fictional) housewife who is an early member of Phyllis’ anti-ERA movement
The series is written by Dahvi Waller and executive produced by Stacey Sher, Waller, Coco Francini, Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck and Blanchett. Micah Schraft is co-executive producer. The nine-episode limited series from FX Productions will have Waller as the showrunner.