Cate Blanchett Makes The Leap To TV With The New FX Series ‘Mrs. America’

Cate Blanchett is joining the ranks of just about every major filmmaker and actor in the world and making the jump to prestige TV. And she has picked a pretty good group of collaborators to join her in the new FX series “Mrs. America.”

Deadline reports that Blanchett has signed on to play Phyllis Schlafly, a conservative woman who unexpectedly opposed the attempts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). “Mrs. America” will explore how the culture war in the ‘70s, which also included feminists Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug, and Jill Ruckelshaus, led to the rise of the Moral Majority and changed the US political landscape forever.

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“Mrs. America” comes from writer Dahvi Waller, who is probably best known for working on acclaimed series like “Mad Men” and “Halt and Catch Fire.” She will also produce and showrun the upcoming FX series. Oscar-nominated producer Stacey Sher, who worked on “Django Unchained” and “Erin Brockovich” will also join the series, along with producer Coco Francini.

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

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Sher said, “We are extremely fortunate to be making this series with the fearless John Landgraf and the incredible team at FX, who never flinch in the face of provocative subject matter. This country has literally been discussing women’s rights for over 100 years and this story is as timely and relevant to the times we live in as it was during the tumultuous and passionate period in which it took place.”

Blanchett was recently seen in two major films in 2018, “The House with a Clock in Its Walls” and “Ocean’s 8.” She’ll next be seen in the Richard Linklater-directed 2019 film, “Where’d You Go Bernadette.”

No release date has been set for “Mrs. America.”