Entertainment Weekly - 04.2020

BELLA ABZUG

MARGO MARTINDALE

To play the lawyer–turned–U.S.

representative who famously

quipped that “[a] woman’s place is

in the house—the House of Repre-

sentatives,” the 68-year-old acting

veteran (Justified, The Americans)

worked with a dialect coach and

studied old YouTube videos to cap-

ture Abzug’s distinctive New York

accent. “She was called ‘Battling

Bella’ and was kind of a bully to

some people,” explains Martindale.

Abzug, who died in 1998 at 77, also

never ventured out without a hat,

thanks to some sage family advice.

“Her mother said always wear hats

because that’s how people can

tell you’re not a secretary.”

BETTY FRIEDAN

TRACEY ULLMAN

The British-American comedian

was the last to be cast, and thinks

that helped her portrayal of the

irascible author of The Feminine

Mystique and cofounder of the

National Organization for Women

(NOW). “That was part of being

Betty,” says Ullman, 60. “Nothing

was easy.” Friedan, who died in

2006 at 85, had a brash style that

led to clashes with Steinem. But

Schlafly also brought out the worst

in Friedan, including an ugly out-

burst during a famous debate.

“Betty ended up telling Phyllis,

‘I’d like to see you burned at the

stake.’ Of course, that’s the only

thing that gets remembered.”

↖ Alice (Sarah

Paulson) is a

fictional character

who serves as

a right hand to

Phyllis Schlafly

(Cate Blanchett)

↓ Elizabeth Banks,

Ari Graynor, and

Rose Byrne

Dahvi Waller (Halt and Catch Fire,

Desperate Housewives) can still

remember the time in college

when she learned about Phyllis

Schlafly, the highly educated

best-selling author who earned

widespread fame spearheading

the battle to defeat the Equal

Rights Amendment. “It was really

eye-opening for me to learn there

were women who were fighting

for the oppression of women,”

says Waller. “It made no sense.”

But then, it’s always been compli-

cated for women when fighting for

their right to work or stay at home

and raise a family—something

Waller tried to capture in Mrs.

America. Several times over the

course of the limited series, gals

in both camps can be seen behav-

ing like th eir own worst enemies.

“I wanted to show that women,

just like men, fight over what they

feel passionately about,” explains

Waller. “Whenever we see political

dramas centered on men, they

fight to the death over what they

believe in. I wanted to give women

the right to do that, too. There was

quite a bit of infighting that felt

very resonant today in terms

of inclusion versus practicality.

These were all the same issues

that tore apart the Women’s March

leaders. I wanted to allow them

to be complex and messy because

I don’t get to see that a lot.”

Chief of

Distaff

CREATOR DAHVI WALLER

EXPLAINS HOW MRS. AMERICA

EXPLORES THE FEMININE

MYSTIQUE IN WAYS NEVER SEEN

BEFORE ON TV. By Lynette Rice

EW ● COM APRIL 2020 65

MRS. AMERICA

: SABRINA LANTOS/FX (7); SCHLAFLY, FRIEDAN: BETTMANN ARCHIVE (2); STEINEM: RON GALELLA COLLECTION/GETTY IM-

AGES; CHISHOLM: NY DAILY NEWS/GETTY IMAGES; ABZUG: LEONARD MCCOMBE/THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES

APRIL2020.TV1.LO.A.indd 65 FINAL 3/3/20 11:39 AM