Good Girls Revolt

Suffused with vintage details to thrill Mad Men fans, this well-written drama scores by casting compelling actors to flesh out a fascinating real-life struggle. Based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Lynn Povich, this fictionalized retelling of the Newsweek scandal gets the clothes, hairstyles, and furniture right, as well as the types of things people were talking about in 1969: the Manson Family, the Pill, the nerve of women who come to work and expect equal treatment. Could it be, young viewers might wonder, that it used to be OK for a boss to ask "a girl" to pick up a present for his daughter on her lunch hour or fetch him coffee? Was it typical that a husband would expect his wife to quit work? Were women's skirts really that short?

Yes, yes, and yes; and watching compelling characters such as Angelson's Patti struggle against expectations and try to force change makes for grabby drama. Patti is a fine reporter and a fierce iconoclast; watching her chafe against those who would keep her down is all the more pleasurable to the viewer who knows her cause is destined to win out. In the wake of Mad Men's success, many dramas have tried to imitate its artistry; Good Girls Revolt is one of the few that's come close.