Cate Blanchett and Rose Byrne shine bright in 'Mrs. America'

There are stars of all stripes in this bingeable series about the battle for equal rights for US women in the '70s, including two Australian standouts.

The backlash against feminism in the US during the 1970s was led by conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, played by Cate Blanchett in Mrs. America.

John McDonald

Jun 5, 2020 – 10.33am

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It takes a moment before one recognises those first four notes in the jazzy theme music for Mrs. America. It’s a "switched-on" version of Beethoven’s Fifth – in the composer’s own famous words: “The sound of fate knocking on the door.” But for whom does it knock?

Is it for Phyllis Schlafly, the formidable conservative matron who sets out to defend American family values against the feminist revolution of the 1970s, or is it for the feminists themselves?