Cate Blanchett Cast as Phyllis Schlafly in FX's Mrs. America

CBR

Cate Blanchett Makes Jump to TV With FX's Mrs. America

By Justin Jones

Published Oct 30, 2018

Famed actor Cate Blanchett will star in FX's upcoming series about the Equal Rights Amendment, Mrs. America.

Between the adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan’s Y: The Last Man, an expansion of the What We Do in the Shadows-verse and dozens of other projects in production, it’s a busy time for new shows at FX. Today the network announced another blockbuster miniseries on their plate: Mrs. America, the story of women who fought to pass the Equal Rights Amendment in the '70s, starring Cate Blanchett.

Set to premiere next year, the series’ crew of executive producers is notably stacked with veteran female producers. Blanchett will produce alongside Stacey Sher, Coco Francini and writer and showrunner Dahvi Waller. The four have extensive experience in film and TV shows, including Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight and Mad Men.

Waller served as co-producer on Mad Men (where she won an Emmy) and Halt and Catch Fire, as well as writing episodes of Desperate Housewives and Mad Men.

Blanchett will play Phyllis Schlafly, a conservative woman who resisted the second wave of feminism. The show will also portray major figures in the second-wave feminist movement, including Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug and Jill Ruckelshaus, and the ways the movement left a lasting impact on American politics. In a statement to Deadline, Blanchett discussed how much the project means to her and what she hopes the show can accomplish.

“I feel privileged to have this opportunity to collaborate with Dahvi, Stacey and Coco under the robust and fearless FX umbrella,” said Blanchett. “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.”

Blanchett was most recently seen in The House with a Clock in its Walls and has a busy year set for 2019, lending her voice to the third How to Train Your Dragon film and the upcoming live-action CGI hybrid Mowgli, as well as appearing in films from Richard Linklater and Aaron Sorkin. This will be her first time headlining a TV series since 1995 miniseries Bordertown, which marked one of the first leading roles in her career. It’s an ambitious gambit from FX, but audiences will have to wait and see if it pays off.

Along with Blanchett, Mrs. America will be executive produced by Stacey Sher, Coco Francini, and Dahvi Waller. It will premiere on FX next year.