Mrs. America

As a portrait of a complicated woman at a pivotal time and place in American history, this compelling series with its fantastic cast and pacing is a total delight. Viewers who remember Schlafly and the ERA's most newsworthy moment may have a pleasant sensation that they're peeking behind the news headlines from back in the day, but even those too young to remember debates over bra burning will be carried along by the propulsive energy of the drama and the uniformly great performances. Time has also lent a dash of piquant irony to Schlafly's political battle.

But though Blanchett's Schlafly always has a steely-eyed, square-jawed confidence in her viewpoints, Mrs. America doesn't always take her side. Pointedly, the show takes pains to reveal the bustling domestic workers (always women of color, working for white women) who make sure dinner is on the table on time and Schlafly's kids' laundry is done, echoing the criticism during the ERA era that Schlafly spent a lot of time away from her home while advising other women to do otherwise. We also see moments when Schlafly tamps down her ambitions to make way for men: When she's asked to take notes at an otherwise-all-male political meeting; when she rejects a shot to run for Congress after her husband raises concerns about the effect it would have on their family life. What Mrs. America does best is show us a woman who saw life, her own and others, through a filter, and did her best to make the changes she thought important. Whether viewers agree or not is a matter of their own political leanings -- but as a sympathetic look at a woman whose most lasting cultural impact was being (mostly) on the wrong side of history, it's good, fascinating fun.